THE  COUNTERFEITERS; 


STONE  HOUSE  IN  THE  PASS; 


BY  F.  C.  HARRINGTON. 


The  lawless  herd,  with  fury  blind, 
Have  done  him  cruel  wrong; 

The  flowers  are  gone,  but  still  we  find, 
The  honey  on  his  tongue. 

COWPER. 


O-wl  Printer   Works, 

ST.    JOHNSBUItY   EAST,    VERMONT, 
PRINTERS  AND  PUBLISHERS. 


AM),    WITH   DUE  KK(JA1ID,    IS    DEDIOATKD   TO  THEM. 


THAT  the  writer  of  the  following  pages  has,  in  all 
cases,  adhered  striclly  to  the  truth,  he  has  not  the 
boldness  to  claim,  but  that  the  tale  there  related  is 
founded  upon  facls,  a  consultation  with  some  of  the 
older  residents  of  the  vicinity,  will  bear  him  out  in 
the  assertion  that  such  is  the  case.  Being  an  in- 
habitant of  that  portion  of  Canada,  for  a  season, 
when  a  youth,  and  hearing  many  of  the  incidents 
related  by  his  elders  as  facts,  he  thinks  himself  to 
be  warranted  in  believing  them. 

That  an  anachronism  may  be  detected  in  making 
Papineau's  Rebellion  and  the  final  suppression  of 
the  Counterfeiters  contemporaneous,  is  fully  admit- 
ted, but  he  considers  himself  authorized  in  bring- 
ing two  such  affairs  into  closer  connection,  by  the 
example  of  many  able  and  well-known  writers  of 
ficlion  from  Scott  to  Doyle. 

Of  the  handling  of  the  many  and  dramatic  in- 
cidents, the  reader  must  be  his  or  her  own  judge, 
while  the  author  trusts  that  a  perusal  of  his  story 
will  repay  the  time  spent,  and  help  to  pass  an  hour 
when  small  amusement  is  preferable  to  none. 

THE    AUTHOR. 

St.  Johnsbury  East,  Vt.,  July  4,  1897. 


2034569 


CONTENTS. 

Chapter  I.   The  Face  at  the  Window 5 

»      II.  The  Pursuit - 25 

"     III.  Gathering  Scattered  Threads 43 

••      IV.   Woman's  Curiosity 63 

V.  The  Pedler  and  the  Lawyer Si 

"      VI.  Attack  on  the  Patriots _ 101 

"     VII.   Samuel  Pruyter's  Wooing 119 

"  VIII.  An  old-time  Justice 138 

*'       IX.   The  Process  Served 149 

"•        X.    He<5tor  in  his  Element _ 169 

"       XI.   Merited  Promotion 181 

"     XII.    Bermuda  Narrowly  Escaped 19^ 

"    XIII.   Some  Disclosures 213 

••    XIV.   An  unavailing  Effort _ _ 227 

k'     XV.   TliL-    Labors  of  a  Busv  Brain 242 

*'    XVI.   Further  Disclosures _ 260 

••XVII.   Death  Blow  to  Samuel's  Hopes     274 

••  XVIII.   Information   Promised 288 

••    XIX.   A   Skirmish  and  an  Alarm 304 

XX.  Still  more  Disclosures 321 

"     XXI.  Another  Unavailing  Search :5:Hj 

••     XXII.  The  Appointment  Kept :iM 

••XXIII.   A  Tun-  Friend  in  Adversity 369 

••  XXIV.  The  Trial ' _ 392 

"     XXV.  The  Verdi.-.i 414 

••   XXVI.  Another  Verdict  4:5r> 

••  XXVII    KXKUXT   OMNKS  .4^7 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS: 

—OR    THE— 

STONE  HOUSE  IN  THE  PASS. 


BY  F.   C.    HARRINGTON. 

CHAPTER   I. 

THE    FACE    AT    THE    WINDOW. 

N  the  fifteenth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of 
Grace  1838,  there  stood,  about  five  miles 
south  of  the  then  vaguely  defined  forty- 
fifth  degree  of  north  latitude,  in  a  later 
year  established  and  demarked  by  the  Webster  and 
Ashburton  treaty,  a  wayside  inn  or,  as  at  that  local- 
ity and  period,  such  establishments  were  called,  a 
tavern,  half-way  up  or  half-way  down  a  steep  hill, 
the  discrepancy  being  reconciled  by  the  traveller's 
course,  whether  south  in  the  former,  or  north  in 
the  latter  case,  who  would  note  its  situation.  With 
the  exception  of  some  twenty  or  thirty  acres  of  rock 
and  stump  dotted  land  on  the  east  or  opposite  side 
of  the  road,  this  structure  was  closely  ringed  with 
the  original  forest,  approaching  so  near  it  as  to  cast 
the  shadows  of  its  tallest  trees,  during  all  portions 
of  the  day  save,  perhaps,  two  or  three  hours  in  the 
forenoon,  upon  the  building,  even  in  mid-summer. 
A  huge  swinging  sign-board,  dependant  from  a 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


jturdy  post,  from  which  the  bark  had  not  been  re- 
moved, (resembling  much  with  its  upright  timber 
and  horizontal  beam,  an  uncouth  gallows  on  which 
condign  punishment  had  been  done  upon  the  guil- 
ty offspring  of  some  dauber's  brain, )  creaked  and 
groaned  in  its  often  swavings  to  and  fro  in  winter 
gale  or  summer  breeze.  On  its  northern  face  was 
what  was  probably  intended  for  the  likeness  of  a 
lion,  with  head  and  tail  elevated,as,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, it  was  the  duty  of  those  useful  appen- 
dages to  be :  for  on  the  reverse  was  what  a  great 
deal  of  charity,  and  some  degree  of  imagination, 
might  guess  to  be  the  American  Eagle,  if  upon  a 
closer  examination,  it  did  not  prove  to  be  a  roue- 
l)iid  or  crow  nest  instead. 

The  building  was  of  somewhat  ancient  construc- 
tion,   but    apparently    in  good   repair,  as  were  the 
outbuildings,    consisting   of  a  shed    adjoining  the 
hoiiM-    ami    the    first    ot  a  couple  of  commodious 
1  "«>•"-•      It    was   a    two-storied,    hip-roofed,  white 
painted  structure  with  an  almost  uncountable  num- 
ber of  windows,  glazed  with  seven-by-nine  glass; 
while  four  tali,  wide  mouthed  chimnies  reared  their 
square  forms  from    near  each    corner  of  the    roof. 
gainst  the   dark  1  ::ckground  of  the  forest  like  the 
•d  watch-towers  from  the  battlements  of  some  an- 
nt  castle,  or  some  gymna.stically  inclined    table 
monstrous    proportions    that    had    attempted  a 
ummersaultaml  alighting  on  its  back,  with  its  legs 
uppermost,  had  there  remained.      A  low  veranda. 
><   "neston  iu    height,  extended  along    the  entire 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

length  of  the  house  on  the  side  next  to  the  road, 
supported  by  six  or  eight  posts  from  which  the  paint 
for  three  or  four  feet  from  the  floor  had  been  worn, 
on  the  inside  bv  the  heels  of  loungers,  and  on  the 
outside  by  the  teeth  of  horses  that  had  been  teth- 
ered while  their  masters  enjoyed  the  accommoda- 
tions of  the  tavern  in  the  way  of  eating,  drinking 
or  smoking,  as  their  necessities  or  inclinations  led 
them.  In  front  of  the  bar-room  door,  on  the  north 
end  and  near  the  corner  of  the  house,  to  which  ac- 
cess was  had  by  the  aid  of  a  large,  flat  granite 
dourstone,  was  a  moss  ornamented  watering-trough 
into  which  a  pure  stream  of  cold  water  poured, 
from  a  spout  in  the  side  of  a  wooden  penstock. 

At  the  time  we  desire  to  call  the  reader's  atten- 
tion to  this  establishment,  one  of  those  nondescript 
vehicles  known  as  a  peddler's  cart  stood  in  front 
of  the  barn,  the  thills  toward  and  near  the  entrance 
as  the  horse,  a  tall,  rawboned,  grav  animal  had  just 
been  detached  and  led  through  the  door  and  stood 
with  drooping  head  waiting  the  motions  of  the 
bearer  of  a  lantern  that  the  near  approach  of  even- 
ing rendered  necessarv,  who  was  making  prepara- 
tions to  render  him  the  care  his  long  day's  labor 
merited.  The  owner  and  driver  of  this  itinerant 
commercial  equipage  had  started  at  once  for  the 
bar-room,  carrying  his  whip,  overcoat  and  a  small 
tin  trunk,  seemingly  content  to  trust  his  equine  co- 
laborer  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  tavern  hostler : 
led  to  this  manifest  dereliction  of  duty,  either  by 
confidence  in  the  man  to  whose  charge  he  was 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

S^*~~+^* -s^^X- -•N-^-^^^-^W-*-'-^-' 

given,  a  selfishness  that  prompted  him  to  take  a 
better  care  of  himself  than  of  his  dumb  compan- 
ion, or  for  some  other  cause  not  revealed.  There 
seemed  to  be  company  in  the  room  to  which  he 
hied  himself,  for  bright  lights  shone  from  the  win- 
dows, two  on  the  front  side  and  two  on  the  north 
end  of  the  building;  and  as  the  door  was  flung 
open  for  his  admittance,  not  only  a  bright  column 
of  light  shot  across  the  door-yard,  bathing  the  old 
moss-grown  tank  in  yellow  and  making  the  fluid 
sparkle  as  u  ran.  but  the  sound  of  several  voices 
could  be  heard  in  some  animated  discussion,  in 
which  all  seemed  to  wish,  as  is  usually  the  case,  to 
take  a  prominent  part  at  once. 

The  entrance  of  the  stranger  necessitating  the 
attention  of  the  landlord  and  the  partial  removal 
of  the  disputants,  in  order  to  make  room  near  the 
fire  that  the  coolness  of  the  evenings  yet  demand- 
ed, in  a  measure  silenced  the  argument  for  the  pres- 
ent. As  is  natural  on  such  occasions,  the  guests 
already  assembled  examined  minutely  the  newcom- 
er, in  order  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  the  nature  of 
the  addition  to  their  number.  They  discovered  an 
undersized  man,  somewhere  between  forty-five  and 
fifty  years  of  age,  apparently  a  yankee,  and  in  a 
state  of  agitation  from  fright,  or  some  other  cause, 
that  produced  manifest  indications  in  the  increased 
pallor  ,,f  his  naturally  sallow  countenance ;  an  ev- 
ident trembling  of  the  limbs,  and  a  restlessness  of 
the  eyes,  patent  to  the  observers.  Whatever  might 
have  been  the  cause  of  his  perturbation,  they  were 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

destined  to  be  disappointed  of  an  explanation,  at 
present  for,  after  passing  the  several  portions  of  his 
burden  successively  to  the  landlord  for  safe  keep- 
ing he,  after  calling  for  and  gulping  down  a  full 
tumbler  of  undiluted  spirits,  took  a  seat  near  the 
fire  and  dropping  his  head  upon  his  breast,  was 
soon  lost  in  his  own  reflections,  all  unmindful  of 
the  landlord's  natural  inquiry  whether  he  would 
like  supper  or  not. 

'•I  am  satisfied  that  this  very  diversity  of  nation- 
ality, arguing  a  corresponding  diversity  of  interest, 
is  an  element  of  weakness  rather  than  strength," 
said  a  tall,  red-headed,  hatchet- faced -marl,  evident- 
ly a  resident  of  the  vicinity,  in  answer  to  some  re- 
mark interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  the  peddler. 
"•The  English,  of  course,  will  remain  loyal  ;  the 
Irish  and  Scotch  element,  from  old  associations, 
will  remain  neutral,  and  only  the  French  'habitans' 
and  the  yankees,  the  first  on  account  of  their  French 
leader,  Fapineau,  and  the  latter  for  their  innate 
love  of  liberty,  may  be  induced  to  take  up  arms," 
and  the  speaker  who  sat  tilted  back  in  one  chair, 
with  his  feet  upon  the  highest  part  of  another  sent 
a  mouthful  of  tobacco  juice  into  the  fire,  closing 
one  eye  at  the  same  time,  as  if  to  make  his  aim 
the  more  accurate. 

••All,  weel,  I  dinna  ken  wha'll  be  maist  likely 
ta  be  for  king  and  wha  for  Fapineau,  answered  a 
freckle  faced,  rawboned  man  in  gray  clothes  and  a 
Scotch  cap,  sitting  at  a  table  eating  a  cracker  and 
drinking  from  a  handled  mug,  some  hot  mixture 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

*s*^^*s^^s+~~~~+s~*s* — ^^*~ • — "^> 

of  whiskev,  water  and  sugar.  "Tha  canty  Irisher 
loons'll  fight  tor  ta  fun  o't,  and  ta  Scottishmen,  on 
ta  side  or  t'ither,  whether  ta  e'en  be  Hieland  or 
Lowland,  presbyterian  or  prelatist  or  for  wha'll 
gie  ta  maist  siller  for  ta  wage  and  bountith." 

"Too  true,  Alick,  too  true,"  laughingly  remark- 
ed the- landlord,  a  hale,  stout-built,  open-faced  man 
of  about  fiftv  years  who,  in  his  shirtsleeves,  leant 
with  his  elbows  on  the  bar,  the  most  of  his  body 
being  behind  it;  "the  Yankees  fight  for  honor,  the 
Irish  for  fun  and  the  Scotch  for  money,  the  whole 
world  over." 

"Oh.  aye  maister  Morrison,"  replied  the  Scotch- 
man, with  a  twinkle  in  his  blue  eye;  "  it's  aye  ta 
auld  clavering  t'at  ilka  mon  fights  for  what  he  is 
maistly  in  need  o',  whither  it  be  gude  gowd  or  ta 
honor.  Xae  mon's  abune  ta  lo'e  o'  ta  geer  ta  line 
his  ain  pouch  whiles." 

"Just  so.  Alick."  replied  Morrison,  the  landlord, 
"but  a  man  who  takes  up  and  fights  for  the  best 
paying  side,  while  he  increases  his  pile  of  cash, 
is  most  apt  to  tarnish  "the  brightness  of  his  honor 
in  the  act." 

••Mavbie  sac.  \Yha  kens  :"  said  the  .Scotchman, 
addressing  himself  more  assiduously  to  his  frugal 
repast. 

"I  am  informed."  here  remarked  the  red  haired 
man  who,  during  the  foregoing  conversation,  had 
-ucceeded  by  the  copiousness  of  the  application  and 
the  excellence  of  his  marksmanship,  in  almost  en- 
tirely extinguishing  a  particular  stick  of  wood  in 


Till-:  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  fireplace  :  4ilam  informed  that  there  is  quite  an 
organization  in  Canada  and  there  are  several  com- 
panies upon  this  side  of  the  line,  going  under  the 
name  of  Hunter's  lodges :  aggregating  a  sufficient 
force,  but  very  much  in  need  of  arms.  The  Pres- 
ident's proclamation,  as  a  matter  of  course,  will 
prevent  any  active  partcipation  of  our  citizens  in 
the  unfortunate  quarrel ;  and  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
time  how  long  the  rebels  can  hold  out  against  the 
disciplined  legions  of  the  young  queen,"  and  the 
village  politician  drowned  out  a  little  flicker  of 
ftame  that  had  gained  a  slight  hold  upon  the  doom- 
ed brand  during  his  speech,  in  a  more  copious 
flood  than  had  vet  been  its  fate  to  endure. 

"I  hardly  think  little  Mattie's  bombastic  pronun- 
cimento  will  a  fleet  the  actions  of  those  Vermonters 
who  recollect  the  destruction  of  the  Caroline,"  re- 
joined Morrison  with  an  emphasis  occasioned  bv 
some  little  heat :  --nor  those  who  have  cause  to  re- 
member the  tender  mercies  of  the  red-coated  min- 
ions of  oppression  who  recognize  Great  Britain  as 
their  home.  And  as  for  the  matter  of  arms,  Mr. 
Roberts,  there  will  be  found  a  way  to  provide  for 
all  such  exigencies  as  has  ever  been  the  case  where 
a  d(*vn  trodden  people  are  battling  for  their  rights 
against  the  tools  of  a  tvranical  government,  and  a 
hireling  soldiery.  Their  whole  course  since  the 
time  of  our  own  revolution  to  the  present  has  been 
an  uninterrupted  series  of  abuses  to  their  colonies, 
wherever  their  lawless  arms  have  prevailed  to  sub- 
jugate a  new  and  defenceless  country." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^-^-^BXNBXV^^-^X^->-'*'.-~^^ 

\Yhat  might  have  been  Mr.  Roberts'  reply  is  not 
recorded  for,  at  this  instant,  a  young  man,  appar- 
ently about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  perhaps  an 
inch  less  than  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  well-knit, 
muscular  frame  and  handsome  features,  entered. 
He  was  the  hostler  of  the  establishment,  evidentlv. 
for  he  was  enveloped  in  blue  overalls  and  frock*of 
cotton  and  bore  in  his  hands  a  lantern.  He  ap- 
proached the  peddler  who,  since  his  entrance,  had 
maintained  a  studied  silence  and  was  gradually 
gaining  a  masterv  of  his  agitation,  and  tapping  him 
on  the  shoulder  with  his  fingers,  said  : — 

•'Your  horse,  mister,  has  cast  his  near,  forward 
shoe  and  has  cut  his  opposite  ankle ;  and  the  oft", 
forward  axle  of  your  cart  is  badly  sprung  and  hot," 

"That  all  comes  of  your  darned  rough  roads," 
replied  the  peddler,  arousing  himself;  ikbut  'twould 
n't  a  been  so  if  it  hadn't  been  for  drivin'  so  fast. 
I  say.  landlord,"  he  continued,  turning  to  Morris- 
on :  "is  your  kentrv  round  here  haunted?" 

••Not  that  I  am  aware  of,"  responded  Morrison, 
smiling.  ••!  have  never  heard  of  any  complaints. 
before.  Whatever  spirits  are  in  this  vicinity,  are 
behind  my  bar  and  in  my  cellar;  except  such  as 
my  customers  carry  away,  and  they  are  usually  so 
thoroughly  enveloped  as  to  be  invisible  except  in 
their  effect  on  those  having  them  in  charge." 

"\Val.  you  may  laugh,  but  seein's  believin' and, 
if  I  didn't  see  a  ghost  within  tu  mile  of  yeur  door, 
yeou  may  set  me  deown  as  a  sneak  I"  exclaimed  the 
peddler,  vehementlv. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  13 


"A  wniith  ;  now  the  glide  angels  fend  us  a'  frae 
ta  ghaist !" 

"A  ghost,  stranger?" 

"Yas,  a  ghost,  as  true's  yeou  live,"  replied  the 
peddler;  "jest  as  I  druv  inter  the  patch  of  woods, 
back  here  a  piece,  I  see  a  woman's  face,  abeout 
five  foot  from  the  greound,  kinder  tremblin'  like ; 
without  any  body  or  neck  or  arms.  'Tw.is  jest  as 
white's  a  cloth  and  looked  at  me  for  tu  or  three  sec- 
onds, and  then  it  disappeared  quicker'n  scat.  Ole 
sleepy  Jim — that's  my  hoss — snorted  and  run  like 
a  streak,  clean  to  your  door." 

"I  should  judge  by  the  whip  welts  on  his  side," 
quietly  suggested  the  handsome  hostler,  "that  he 
had  some  more  encouragement  than  fright  to  open 
his  gait  a  trifle." 

"A  woman's  face,"  pondered  Morrison,  eyeing 
the  peddler's  countenance,  as  if  to  ascertain  whet- 
her an  embryo  intoxication  had  been  completed  bv 
the  somewhat  copious  stimulator  he  had  imbibed 
on  his  entrance. 

"Yas,  a  woman's  face — a  darned  han'some  one, 
tu — without  no^hin'  ter  hold  it  up.  abeout  five  foot 
from  the  greound " 

"No  doubt  some  mental  hallucination  or  optical 
delusion,"  pedantically  remarked  the  village  politi- 
cian and  philosopher;  "superinduced  by  a  too  pro- 
fuse imbibation  of  distilled  spirituous  fermentations 
acting  upon  a  naturally  vivid  imagination,  aided 
by  the  approaching  nocturnal  obscuration,  height- 
ened by  the  circumjacent  foliage,  tending  to  aftecT: 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^.XX^^^^^N-^X^*^-^^*^^-^-^^^-^^ 

retina  of  the  visual  organs  and  producing  morbose 
action  of  the  parts  and  disarrangement  of  their 
normal  functions." 

"Idunnowhat  in  thunder  all  them  are  big  words 
mean,"  said  the  peddler;  "but  what  I  seen  was  a 
ghost ;  a  woman's  face,  abeout  five  foot  from  the 
greound.  without  nothin'  to " 

••It's  nae  ta  uncannv  glamour,"  broke  in  the  nat- 
urally superstitious  Alick  Cameron,  who  had  list- 
ened with  Open  mouth  and  eves  to  the  remarks  of 
Roberts  and  had  only  gained  sufficient  knowledge 
of  what  he  had  been  saying  to  discover  that  he  at- 
tributed the  vision  to  some  defect  in  the  peddler's 
eyes.  "Its  nae  glamour,  but  e'en,  as  I  uphaud, 
ta  woesome  weather-grews  o'  danger  ayont." 

"I  have  made  the  matter  of  claimed  supernatu- 
ral visitations  a  subject  of  some  research,  and  of 
considerable  thought,"  said  the  man  of  words, 
••and  have  arrived  at  certain  conclusions,  of  which 
the  following  are  a  few.  There  are  two  main  parts 
or  portions  of  the  human  being,  the  material  and 
the  immaterial ;  the  material,  or  the  body  and  its 
adjuncts,  being  perceptible  or  evident  to  one  or 
more  of  the  senses,  and  the  immaterial,  having 
neither  form  or  consistence,  nor,  in  fad,  any  attri- 
bute susceptible  of  being  comprehended  by  any  of 
the  senses  ;  not  even  containing  a  materiality  as  real 
as  the  most  volatile  gasses;  when  death  which,  in 

i  broadest  sense,  is  merely  a  separation  of  these 
component  parts,  comes,  the  impalpable  essence, 
called  spirit,  being  denuded  of  its  palpable  or  ma- 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  15 

terial  concomitant  and  returns  to  Him  who  gave  it, 
every  iota  of  what  may  be  seen,  felt,  tasted,  smelt 
or  heard  is  consigned  to  the  earth  and,  in  due  course 
of  time,  is  destroyed ;  or,  perhaps,  not  destroyed, 
but  decomposed  and  changed  and  mixing  with  oth- 
er substances,  loses  its  distinction  as  a  part  of  hu- 
manity and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  can  never  col- 
lect itself,  and  become  evident  to  any  of  the  senses  ; 
while  the  spirit  from  its  peculiarity,  being  invisible, 
intangible,  inaudible  and  without  taste 'or  smell,  is 
not  perceptible  by  any  power  by  which  man  gains 
cognizance  ot  outward  existence  ;  .and,  therefore, 
cannot  be  known  to  them  by  any  human  faculty, 
or  by  any " 

"That's  all  truer' n  gospel,  squire;  but  I  seen  a 
ghost  jest  the  same ;  a  woman's  face,  abeout  five 
foot  from  the  greound,  without  nothin'  to  hold  it 
up,  and  wavin'  like " 

"Did  you  stop  at  Colonel  Carpenter's  as  you 
came  along?"  asked  Morrison  who  had  been  listen- 
ing, with  a  smile  on  his  jolly  face,  to  the  discuss- 
ion. "A  too  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  Colo- 
nel's spirits  may  have  raised  other  and  different 
kinds  subsequently." 

"Darn  it  all,  lan'lord,  p'raps  yeu  think  I'm  boo- 
zy. Mebbe  I  be,"  said  the  persistent  man  of  no- 
tions, pretty  sharply  ;  "but  then  I  seen  a  ghost  jest 
the  same ;  a  woman's  face,  abeout  five  foot  from 
the  greound,  without  nothin' " 

A  further  and  more  minute  description  of  the 
apparition  that  the  commercial  traveller  seemed  so 


,6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

determined  to  give,  and  which,  no  doubt,  would 
have  been  extremely  edifying,  not  only  to  his  hear- 
ers, but  to  the  reader,  would  probably  have  been 
made  had  he  not  been  interrupted  by  a  loud  shout 
from  some  personage  near  the  building  and  in  its 
front,  crying : — 

"Hullo,  the  house,  there  !  Hostler  wanted." 
When  young  children,  and  some  children  of  a 
more  advanced  age,  are  talking  of  ghosts  and  such 
exciting  subjects,  especially  when  it  is  dark,  and 
am  sudden,  unexpected  sound  occurs  in  their  vi- 
cinitv,  they  are  very  apt  to  mingle  the  thought  and 
noise,  so  as  to  give  to  even  the  most  trivial  occur- 
rences, for  the  instant,  a  supernatural  complexion  ; 
consequently  the  shout  and  ghost,  for  the  smallest 
space  of  time,  seemed  part  and  parcel  of  each  oth- 
er ;  and  the  occupants  of  the  bar-room  were  more 
or  less  startled  by  it,  accordingly  as  each  nature 
was  the  more  or,  less  readily  affected  from  natural 
nervousness,  or  other  cause.  Lawyer  Roberts,  from 
greater  susceptibility,  perhaps,  notwithstanding  his 
scepticism,  showed,  tor  a  short  time,  evident  marks 
of  fright,  and  in  his  perturbation,  adually  allowed 
his  feet  to  drop  from  their  elevated  position  to  the 
floor,  and  the  formerly  inundated  billet  of  wood 
to  crackle  and  blaze  in  company  with  its  fellows. 
William  Howard,  the  handsome  hostler,  grasped 
the  lantern  that  he  had  deposited  on  the  bar,  and, 
more  used  to  such  summonses,  passed,  undisturbed 
from  the  room,  to  answer  the  call. 

"Ah,  weel,  maister  Roberts,    ye    hae  threpit  o' 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

ta  ghaist  ta  peddler  hae  tauld  ye  o',  as  yin  t'at  can- 
na  be  ;  but  I'se  uphaud  I  hae  seen  mony  a  wraith 
i'  ta  Hielands,"  said  Alick,  washing  down  his  last 
crumb  of  cracker  with  the  remains  of  his  now  cold 
whiskev-sling;  ''afore  I'se  came  ower  ta  saut  wa- 
ter. But  as  I  hae  seen  ta  bottom  o'  ta  pint  coup, 
I  wul  e'en  pay  ta  lawin'  and  gang  my  way;"  sav- 
ing which  he  paid  his  bill  and  shouldering  his  lit- 
tle bundle,  attached  to  a  cane,  he  started  toward 
the  door,  but  immediately  fell  back  a  pace  exclaim- 
ing :  l>Odd,  but  t'are's  ta  ghaist,  sure  eneuch  !"  at 
the  same  time  pointing  with  one  of  his  long,  bonv 
fingers,  which  was  far  from  steady,  to  the  window 
farthest  from  the  door. 

The  startled  exclamation  drew  the  attention  of 
the  inmates  of  the  room  and  the  indicating  finger 
directed  their  eyes  to  the  window  mentioned  ;  and 
there,  in  certainty,  they  saw  a  pale,  beautiful  wo- 
man's face,  with  wavering,  unsteady  motion,  gaz- 
ing full  upon  them  from  the  darkness  without.  It 
was  even  as  the  peddler  said,  about  five  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  wholly  unsupported  by  any  per- 
ceptible surroundings.  The  weird,  handsome  face 
remained  for  an  instant  and  then  as  suddenly  dis- 
appeared as  it  had  come  ;  and  its  effect  upon  the 
spectators  was  as  varied  as  the  number  composing 
them.  The  Scotchman,  by  right  of  priority  of  dis- 
covery, deserving  first  mention,  showed  a  kind  of 
startled  resignation  to  the  state  of  affairs,  devoid 
alike  of  surprise  or  fear;  Morrison's  countenance 
indicated  wonder,  astonishment  and  perplexity  :  on 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  peddler's  face  was  delineated  trepidation  min- 
gled with  a  strong  feeling  of  triumphant  vindica- 
tion of  the  fact  that  he  "had  seen  a  ghost  jest  the 
same,  abeout,"  etc. :  while  the  last  and,  in  his  own 
estimation,  not  by  any  manner  of  means,  the  least 
of  the  quartette  was  not  only  thoroughly  frightened, 
but  seemed  actually  furtively  searching  for  some 
hiding-place ;  thus  confuting  the  hvpothesis  that 
men  of  brains  are  seldom  cowards. 

This  melancholy  exhibition  of  a  melancholy  pe- 
culiarity of  the  self-opinionated  lawyer,  was  most 
disagreeable  to  him  at  the  present  time  and  place, 
for  more  reasons  than  one.  Like  all  great  talkers, 
when  other  subjects  of  conversation  or  disputation 
failed,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  discussing  the  abstract 
principles  of  animal  courage,  and  of  the  power  of 
mind  over  matter  as  applied  to  the  control  of  limbs 
predisposed  to  certain  weaknesses  at  the  middle 
joint  in  cases  of  danger,  and  had  illustrated  hisar- 
gument  by  instancing  his  own  case  as  an  elucida- 
tion of  the  fact  that  mind  was  superior  to  matter, 
wherein  he  claimed  that  fear  was  no  ingredient  of 
his  mentality,  being  banished  by  pure  force  of  in- 
tellect ;  or,  in  other  words,  had  boasted  much  of 
his  courage,  and  would  fain  verify  his  self-vaunt- 
ing in  the  eyes  of  those  to  whom  he  had  made  the 
claim.  Another  cii;cumstance  seemed  to  make  the 
exposure  of  his  failing  uncomfortable,  and  this  was 
the  fad  that  he  was  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  the 
landlord's  pretty  daughter,  Elsie,  to  whom  a  por- 
tion of  his  evening  visits  were  paid,  after  the  usual 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  19 


exhibit  of  his  erudition  to  the  landlord,  his  hostler. 
and  such  chance  customers  and  visitors  as  the  bar- 
room happened  to  contain. 

Courage  is  not  an  acquired  virtue,  any  more  than 
a  faculty  for  mathematics,  or  physical  strength.  A 
judicious  course  of  training  will  increase  the  pow- 
er of  computation,  enlarge  the  muscles  and  par- 
tially banish  timidity,  provided  always  that  there 
is  some  base  on  which  to  build  ;  but  there  are  men, 
intelligent  men,  too,  who  require  a  slate  and  pencil 
for  the  simplest  transactions  in  arithmetic;  puny 
men  whose  physical  energies  are  weakness  instead  : 
and  men  who  cannot  face  the  slightest  danger,  if 
known  as  such,  without  actual  suffering,  physical 
as  well  as  mental.  These  men  are  simplv  unfor- 
tunate, and  more  objects  of  pitv  than  scorn  ;  but 
the  tirst  should  shun  the  subject  of  figures,  the  sec- 
ond never  brag  of  his  strength,  nor  the  last  boast 
of  his  bravery  ;  for  no  one  elevating  himself  as  a 
target  has  the  right  to  find  fault  if  people  shoot  at 
him.  Courage  is  an  attribute,  an  inherent  quality 
over  which  the  possessor  has  no  more  control  than 
he  has  over  his  sighl,  or  over  his  stature,  which 
he  may  not,  by  taking  thought,  increase  or  dimin- 
ish, and  therefore,  no  more  to  be  praised  in  a  man 
than  his  height  or  shape,  nor  his  deficiency  in  either 
worthy  of  blame  ;  provided  always,  as  before,  that 
he  does  not  boast  of  that  he  has  not. 

Something  like  a  smile  of  contempt  curled  the 
lip  of  Morrison,  when  he,  after  the  disappearance 
of  the  face,  perceived  the  discreditable  figure  being 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^ ^^ -^-^ *-" -^-^-v_^_^^_ 

cut  \->\  his  prospective  son-in-law  which,  the  latter 
M/cing,  in  a  great  measure  banished  a  portion  of 
the  manifestations  of  perturbation  from  the  face  of 
that  individual  and  constrained  him  to  speak  ;  but, 
before  he  had  formed  words  for  the  purpose,  the 
door  was  Hung  open  and  Howard,  followed  by  a 
stranger,  entered  the  apartment. 

The  new-comer  was  scarcely  less  than  six  feet 
in  altitude  and,  as  far  as  was  revealed  by  a  coarse, 
gray.  Canada-cloth  overcoat,  fashioned  WMth  a  hood 
of  the  same  material,  something  like  unto  the  same 
article  now  worn  by  ladies,  attached  to  what  is 
called  a  waterproof,  had  an  upright,  athletic  form, 
indicative  of  strength  and  activity.  His  eyes  were 
black  and  intelligent,  his  face  comely  and  mascu- 
line, bordered  by  wavy  locks  of  jet  black  hair  and 
ornamented  by  a  moustache  of  the  same  hue  and, 
like  his  hair,  as  glossy  as  well  polished  ebony.  He 
sent  a  penetrating  glance  around  the  apartment  and 
while  he  unbultoned  and  threw  back  the  lapels  of 
his  coarse  outer  garment  and.  in  so  doing,  disclosed 
a  neatly  fitting  suit  of  blue  broadcloth,  he  ordered 
supper  to  be  prepared  at  once,  as  he  should  con- 
tinue his  journey  as  soon  as  his  horse  had  eaten. 
Morrison  thought  he  detected  a  glance  of  intelli- 
gence between  him  and  Cameron,  but  it  was  so 
faint  that  he  was  unprepared  to  say  whether  it  was 
intentional  or  not ;  at  any  rate,  Alick  made  but  a 
slight  pause,  but  passed  through  the  door,  with  his 
In'Mdle  on  his  shoulder,  continued  his  march  to  the 
northward. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Quite  a  dark  night,  to-night,"  said  the  stranger, 
addressing  all  present,  when  the  landlord,  after  con- 
veying the  necessary  directions  to  another  portion 
of  the  house,  had  returned. 

"Quite  so,"  remarked   Roberts. 

••Yas,  darnation  dark,"  said  the  peddler;  ''but 
'cordin'  to  my  reckonin'.  themoon'll  be  up  in  half- 
an-hour." 

The  stranger  ran  his  eves  from  one  to  the  other, 
as  they  answered,  with  an  unsatisfied  countenance 
until  they  rested  upon  Morrison,  when  a  gleam  of 
approval  shone  from  his  face,  as  he  said  : — 

"A  very  dark  night,  to-night.  How  far  do  you 
travel ?" 

••Till  I  reach  my  destination,"  was  the  reply. 

These  words,  that  were  unnoticed  by  the  lawyer 
or  the  peddler  save  as  an  ordinary  remark  between 
strangers,  seemed  to  be  .cabalistic  in  their  effect, 
for  the  two  men  immediately  advanced  toward  each 
other  and,  with  warm  smiles,  shook  hands  like  old 
acquaintances,  and  were  soon  engaged  in  a  low 
conversation  that  appeared  to  be  of  much  interest 
to  both,  so  earnest  was  it.  They  both  occasionally 
cast  a  glance  toward  the  other  occupants  of  the 
room  who.  however,  each  seemed  to  be  occupied 
in  his  own  business:  the  lawyer  meditating  upon 
his  late  scare  ;  ths  hostler  replenishing  the  fire,  and 
the  peddler  asleep ;  but  a  more  observant  watcher 
would  have  discovered  that  one  of  the  last  men- 
tioned individual's  ears  was  attentively  bent  toward 
the  colloquists.  his  halt-closed  eyes  watching  every 


THE  COUNTERFEITED 

^^S>*^*~~r+*>~*s*^*-> -x^-*^-*^-^-^-->^> 

motion  and  his  breath  abated  so  as  not  to  prevent 
any  incautious  tone  from  reaching  the  waiting  and 
news-greedy  receptacle  so  eager  to  catch  it. 

The  eavesdropper,  for  whatever  purpose  he  was 
acting  the  disreputable  part,  gained  but  little  con- 
solation, however;  and  soon  a  small  bell,  hung  on 
a  coiled  spring  and  rung  by  some  invisible  mech- 
anism announced  supper,  and  the  stranger,  doffing 
his  overcoat  and  directing  that  his  horse  be  ready 
on  his  return  from  eating,  disappeared,  accompa- 
nied bv  Morrison,  through  a  door  at  the  back  of  the 
bar.  As  they  passed  out  the  landlord  made  a  mo- 
tion with  his  hand  towards  Lhe  bottles  on  the  shelf, 
but  the  stranger  smilingly  shook  his  head,  declin- 
ing the  invitation. 

••Do  vou  know  who  the  gentleman  is,  Howard  ?" 
asked  Roberts.  "He  and  Dan  seem  to  be  old  ac- 
quaintance." 

••I  am  sure  I  don't,"  replied  the  hostler;  -'as  I 
never  saw  him  before.  Perhaps  that  wouldn't  be 
grange  as  1  have  been  here  only  since  the  middle 
of  last  month,  you  know,"  and  he  again  resumed 
his  lantern  and  was  passing  toward  the  door  when 
the  peddler  seemed  to  wake. 

••Hello,  'ostler,  did  yeu  see  anything  of  that'are 
ghost ;  a  woman's  face,  abeout  five  foot  from  the 
givound. •" 

"Not  any  ghost,"  laughingly  replied  the  young 
man  and  went  out  on  his  mission. 

"Ik-  is  evidently  a  Canuck,"  resumed  Roberts, 
in  continuation  of  his  meditations  on  the  subject 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  the  stranger  that  his  inordinate  curiosity  and 
inquisitiveness  had  produced;  k'his  gray  coat  and 
cappo  would  indicate  that  readily  enough,  and,  no 
doubt,  one  of  Papineau's  men,  as  his  blue  suit 
would  show.  That  is  what  makes  he  and  Dan  so 
intimate  on  so  short  an  acquaintance,  in  my  mind  ; 
for  I  have  more  than  suspected  Dan  Morrison  of 
belonging  to  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  for  two  months 
past.  He  had  better  keep  out  of  that  affair,  situa- 
ted as  he  is,  for  they  are  sure  to  be  conquered  even- 
tually, and  it  will  only  have  the  effect  of  driving 
awav  his  share  of  the  Canadian  custom  and  giving 
it  to  the  Colonel  whose  predeliclions  are  the  other 
way." 

"Yen  are  right,  stranger;  they  can't  stand  for  a 
minute  afore  Queen  Vic's  sodjers,"  answered  the 
peddler.  "Not  for  a  minute!"  he  repeated,  in  a 
tone  calculated  to  carry  conviclion,  if  to  no  one 
else,  to  himself;  but  of  what  he  knew  or  surmised 
as  to  the  well-dressed  Canadian,  he  chose  to  make 
no  remark ;  but  his  manner  seemed  to  say  that  he 
knew  vastly  more  than  he  saw  fit  to  tell  at  the  pres- 
ent sitting ;  and  the  conversation  flagged,  as  Rob- 
erts resumed  his  meditations  and  a  moving  of  chairs 
in  the  supper  room  seemed  to  have  3  very  scyrmif- 
erous  effect  on  the  peddler  for,  in  less  than  ten  sec- 
conds  he  was  seemingly  in  a  sound  sleep. 

In  about  ten  minutes  the  tall  stranger  returned, 
hastily  donned  his  overcoat  and  hat,  paid  his  bill, 
lighted  a  cigar  and  went  to  the  door,  where  a  sound 
of  horse's  shoes  upon  the  gravel  seemed  to  indicate 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^-^-^-^^^ *^^^-s_^_^x-s^-<-^x-* 

that  his  steed  was  being  led.  It  was  an  error,  for 
110  horse  was  there,  and  a  glance  toward  the  barn 
showed  Howard  just  leading  his  animal,  a  power- 
ful chestnut  gelding,  fully  sixteen  hands  high,  as 
gaunt  as  a  greyhound  and  as  full  of  energy,  from 
the  door. 

••A  darn  nice  anamile,  that  of  yeur'n,"  remark- 
ed the  peddler,  who  seemed  to  have  something  of 
an  eye  for  a  horse,  and  had  suddenly  awakened, 
and  had  come  to  the  door  with  the  rest  as  he  pass- 
ed around  on  the  opposite  side;  "a  splendiferous 
animile,  stranger,"  taking  a  front  view. 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  the  Canadian,  justly  proud  of 
his  steed.  "A  cross  between  a  thoroughbred  En- 
glish hunter  and  the  Crane  branch  of  the  Morgans  ; 
six  years  old,  well  broken,  gentle  and  sound  as  a 
bullet,  in  wind  and  limb " 

Further  encomiums  were  cut  short  by  the  furious 
trampling  of  a  horse  that  passed,  with  the  speed 
of  an  avalanche  down  the  steep  hill.  The  reckless- 
ly driven  steed  seemed  to  shoot  like  an  arrow  across 
the  line  of  light  cast  by  the  bar-room  windows,  by 
which  the  surprised  observers  saw,  in  addition  to 
horse  and  rider,  and  in  front  of  the  latter,  the  wo- 
man's/ace  of  the  window  as,  for  an  instant,  it  ap- 
peared and  disappeared ;  and  then  a  wail  of  fright 
and  agony— a  woman's  terrified  scream — arose  on 
the  dark  obscurity  of  the  night,  piercing  the  ears 
of  the  startled  auditors  as  if  a  knife  had  been  thrust 
through  the  tympanum.  Then  all  was  silent  save 
the  distant  hoof-beats  of  the  ftving  horse. 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS.  25 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE    PURSUIT. 

LICK  CAMERON,  to  whom  the  reader 
had  an  introduction  in  the  first  chapter, 
was  an  intelligent,  canny  Highland  Scot, 
a  resident  of  the  Queen's  dominions  in 
America,  known  as  Canada,  where  he  had  a  small 
farm,  a  prudent,  buxom  wife  by  the  name  of  Nancy 
with  several  children  of  assorted  sizes,  like  the  fin- 
gers of  a  man's  hand,  from  six-foot  muckle  Saw- 
nev,  down  to  the  wee  bit  Nancy,  a  toddler  of  four 
years,  in  shape  and  look,  as  well  as  name,  a  min- 
iaaire  of  his  prolific  spouse.  The  size  of  his  fam- 
ily, joined  with  the  want  of  size  of  his  farm  com- 
pelled the  industrious  Scotchman  to  labor  many 
times,  away  from  home  ;  and  the  summer  before, 
he  had  assisted  Dan  Morrison  about  his  having. 
He  had  been  on  a  visft,  whether  of  business,  profit 
or  pleasure,  or  for  what  purpose,  is  not  yet  disclos- 
ed, to  the  Scottish  settlements  of  Barnet  and  Rye- 
gate  in  Vermont,  and  when  we  find  him  at  Morri- 
son's house  in  Melas,  was  returning  on  foot,  owing 
to  the  fadl  that  a  sudden  rise  in  the  Passumpsic 
river  had  carried  away  a  bridge,  and  the  stage  was 
not  running  for  that  day. 

He  trudged  on,  down  the  steep  hill,  up  a  steeper 
one  and  then  down  a  long  decline,  at  the  foot  of 
which  flowed  the  Clyde,  thus  named  from  its  fan- 
cied resemblance  to  his  own  romantic  stream,  over 
the  bridge  arid  up  a  steep  pitch,  and  he  was  in  a 


26  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

village,  built  upon  a  plain,  across  which  the  unob- 
structed beams  from  a  just  risen  moon,  some  two 
days  by  its  full,  were  skimming  like  wings  of  swal- 
lows from  fence  to  fence  and  roof  to  roof.  He  had 
no  sooner  gained  the  village  than  his  attention  was 
attracted  by  the  sound  of  hoof-beats  on  the  bridge 
over  which  he  had  but  just  passed  followed,  in  the 
course  of  a  minute,  by  the  passage  of  what  he  con- 
cluded was  the  same  animal,  by  him  with  prodi- 
gious leaps.  The  horse  had  a  rider  and  otherwise 
bore  a  burden  and  a  live  one,  too,  if  struggling  was 
any  indication.  While  yet  watching  the  fast  dis- 
appearing horseman  and  his  uneasy  burden,  other 
hoof-beats  were  heard  from  the  bridge  and,  shortly 
after,  the  lean,  glossy  Crane  gelding  of  the  Cana- 
dian hove  in  sight,  covering  twenty  feet  at  every 
bound.  Alick  recognized  the  pursuer  at  once  and 
gave  him  a  shout  of  encouragement  as  he  passed, 
designed  to  assist  his  speed  ;»but  well  intended,  as 
it  was,  it  had  a  contrary  effect,  for,  as  the  Canadi- 
an turned  in  his  saddle  and  waved  his  hand,  the 
girth  broke,  and  the  whole  riding  gear,  except  the 
bridle  slipped  over  the  horse's  rump,  and  the  rider 
lay  sprawling  in  the  road. 

Cameron  sprang  forward  to  assist  the  dismount- 
ed man,  but  before  he  could  reach  him  he  had  got 
to  his  feet  and  with  a  loud  whistle  stopped  the  an- 
imal in  his  headlong  career,  and  he  was  returning. 
An  examination  of  the  parted  girth,  when  they  had 
gained  the  Colonel's  tavern  door  and  a  light  pro- 
cured, disclosed  the  somewhat  suspicious  fad  that 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  2J 

it  had  been  fully  three-fourths  severed  by  a  knife, 
and  the  only  wonder  was  that  it  had  held  as  long 
as  it  had  considering  the  state  of  the  road  and  the 
speed  he  had  come.  While  Colonel  Carpenter, 
who  was  somewhat  lame  from  having  had  a  stone 
fall  upon  his  ankle  a  short  time  before,  while  build- 
ing a  well,  was  in  search  of  another  girth,  the 
Canadian  said  : — 

"That  was  the  work  of  that  scoundrel,  Heath, 
Alick.  He  didn't  think  I  recognized  him  with  his 
whiskers  shaved  off,  his  hair  colored,  with  his  van- 
kee  pronunciation  and  driving  a  peddler's  cart,  as 
the  hostler  told  me.  I  noticed  him  feeling  around 
Logan  and  thought  I  saw  a  knife  in  his  hand,  but 
1  didn't  think  the  rascal  would  go  so  far  as  to  cut 
my  girth  and  endanger  my  life.  I  hardly  think  he 
bears  me  animosity  enough  for  that,  unless  he  had 
some  other  end  in  view.  I  strongly  suspect  he  had 
in  calculation  to  delay  my  journev  for  some  pur- 
pose. Did  you  recognize,  Alick,  the  man  who 
had  the  woman  in  his  arms  and  passed  you,  just 
ahead  of  me?" 

"I'se  didna  ken  ta  mon,  and  it  be  na  Sam  Pruv- 
ter,  and  ta  beastie,  sure  wus  na  nane  ither,"  replied 
the  Scotch  man. 

"And  who  was  the  woman  !" 

"I'se  canna  sav  'twur  a  lassie,"  said  Alick,  "I'se 
e'en  sa  a  bit  touilsie  atween  them  ;  t'at  wus  a'  " 

"Meet  me  at  the  shed,  when  you  arrive,"  hastily 
spoke  the  Canadian,  as  the  Colonel  appeared,  from 
the  barn  writh  a  girth  in  his  hand. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 
. -^ -^^~^^^- — ^~ 

The  saddle  was  soon  repaired  and  adjusted,  the 
Canadian  again  mounted  and,  in  an  instant,  was  in 
pm-Miit  of  the  now  distant  horseman. 

••Methinks  ta  callant  Captain's  ower  fashious 
anent  ta  wanchancy  lass,  whae'er  she  be,"  medita- 
ted Alick,  as  he  trudged  on  after  the  Canadian,  at 
a  gait  that  for  a  day  long  would  have  tired  a  horse, 
hut  was  merely  a  pleasure  to  the  pedestrian.  "He 
is  ower  fond  o'  rampauging,  like  some  bauld  auld 
kneicht  errant  in  ta  cause  o'  some  sackless  maiden 
\vi'  as  mickle  lo'e  o't,  an  'twur  his  ain  mither  or 
sister.  An'  he  cares  na  moe  for  ta  chestnut  naig, 
honnie  Logan,  a'  'twur  but  ta  aver  o'  some  puir 
ladd  an'  wusna  worth  a  bawbee.  But  e'en  let  him 
gang  his  ain  gait,  an'  he  may  live  ta  longer  for  't ; 
an'  he  wha  dances  maun  pay  ta  fiddler,  afore  a's 
dune.  But  what  hae  we  here?"  he  asked  as,  when 
rising  a  little  hill,  he  saw  something  glitter  in  the 
moon's  rays  and.  when  he  had  picked  it  up  discov- 
ered it  to  he  a  gold  bracelet,  broken,  but  otherwise 
uninjured  ;  "it's  ta  lassie's  gowd  gear,  an'  I  maun 
gi'e  it  till  ta  Captain,  for  s'uld  he  hae  ta  quean,  he 
s'udna  hae  ta  ae  unless  he  has  ta  ither." 

Saying  which  and  much  more  that  is  not  record- 
ed, the  sturdy  Scotchman  deposited  the  treasure 
trove  in  his  pocket  and  resumed  his  march  and,  in 
less  than  an  hours  time,  was  climbing  the  last  hill 
of  his  journey,  the  rising  ground  approaching  the 
plateau  on  which  stood  the  village  of  Steadville, 
the  first  within  the  Queen's  dominions,  approached 
from  northern  Vermont. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Steadville  was  a  well  built,  wealthy  town,  con- 
sisting of  finely  painted,  substantial,  and  in  many 
instances,  quite  imposing  structures  of  brick  and 
wood,  bordering  a  single  broad  street,  running  di- 
rectly north  and  south  :  and  ornamented,  on  both 
sides  of  a  road  over  a  mile  in  length,  with  thrifty, 
umbrageous  shade  trees,  except  before  the  three 
public  houses  mingled  with  the  private  residences 
of  the  village.  Being  situated  upon  the  frontier, 
and  on  a  main  highway  between  the  two  countries, 
a  company  of  cavalry  was  stationed  there  to  pre- 
vent the  incursion  of  such  sympathizers  with  the 
lately  inaugurated  revolutionary  movements  as  re- 
sided in  the  states,  and  to  keep  in  a  proper  state  of 
subjection  the  fast  growing  feeling  of  discontent 
and  insubordination  manifested  by  the  descendants 
of  the  universal  yankee  nation,  who  had  made  the 
near  border  of  British  colonial  soil  their  homes. 
The  patriots  naturally  chafed  under  the  restraint 
thus  imposed  and  several  of  the  more  hot-headed, 
despite  the  espionage  of  the  red  coated  invaders, 
had  organized  and  partially  equipped  a  small  band 
of  soldiery  who,  almost  nightly,  held  meetings  for 
the  purpose  of  consultation  and  drill,  as  yet,  as 
they  supposed,  though  suspected,  undiscovered  by 
their  enemies. 

The  rebellion  in  Canada,  known  to  history  as 
Papineau's  rebellion,  was  a  failure  from  no  want 
of  patriotic  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Canadians, 
nor  from  a  deficiency  of  union  between  the  differ- 
ent nationalities  composing  its  inhabitants,  for  fully 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^^x^^^x^-^^-^^^^^*^^-^-^^^^-^^^^^1- 

three-fourths  of  the  provincials,  with  the  example 
of  the  United  States  before  their  eyes,  yearned  for 
the  freedom  and  free  institutions  of  their  neighbor, 
and  were  willing  to  peril  life,  liberty  and  means  in 
the  cause ;  and  arms  and  munitions  of  war  were 
easily  obtainable  from  their  friends  and  well-wish- 
ers southward  of  the  imaginary  line  of  forty-five ; 
but,  like  many  a  similar  enterprise,  met  its  down- 
fall from  a  diversity  of  religious  belief.  The  lar- 
ger French  element  was  almost  universally  catho- 
lic and  the  movement  originally  being  commenced 
by  them,  the  Scotch  and  Yankee  portion  of  the 
govermental  opposers,  while  they  were  as  energetic 
in  the  cause  of  freedom  from  the  British  yoke  of 
oppression,  were  jealous  in  anticipation  of  the 
government  that  a  catholic  leader  and  a  catholic 
community  would  establish.  Papineau  was  a  sin- 
cere friend  to  his  country  and,  untrammelled,  in  all 
probability,  would  have  given  the  protestant  sup- 
porters of  his  movement  such  pledges  and  guaran- 
tees as  would  have  satisfied  them  ;  but  to  this  the 
priests  would  give  no  consent,  and  the  result  was 
such  as  might  naturally  be  expected. 

Knowing  full  well  that  the  streets  were  nightly 
patrolled  by  details  from  the  before  mentioned  com- 
pany and  that  certain  knolls  in  the  fields  were  also 
picketted,  Cameron  seleded  the  highway  for  his 
thoroughfare,  and  used  all  the  natural  caution  of 
his  race  to  avoid  the  videttes  ;  at  the  same  time  as- 
suming such  a  gait  and  demeanor  that  should  he  be 
discovered  he  would  not  seem  to  be  endeavoring  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  31 


avoid  them,  he  mounted  the  hill  and,  for  twenty 
rods,  or  more,  pursued  his  way  without  interrupt- 
ion. This  was  a  state  of  affairs  that  he  had  hardly 
hoped  for,  pricked  as  he  was  by  a  conscience  that 
acknowledged  the  justness  of  his  being  detained  ; 
and  he  began  to  think  that  he  was  destined  to  es- 
cape altogether,  when  he  was  somewhat  rudely  un- 
deceived by  a  hoarse  command,  issuing  from  one 
of  the  shade  trees  bordering  the  road,  accompani- 
ed by  the  ominous  click  of  a  carbine  lock  : — 

"Halt!     Who  goes  there?" 

"Hout  awa',  mon  !"  exclaimed  the  Scotchman, 
somewhat  surprised,  but  failing  to  show  it  in  his 
voice  or  gesture.  "I  dinna  ken  wha  may  be  gang- 
in'  sin  ye  bid  me  haul,  but  'tvvur  mesel'  na  mony 
minutes  syne." 

"Who  the  devil  are  you?"  gruffly  demanded  the 
same  voice. 

"I'se  na  deevil,  gude  mon  ;  but  e'en  a  puir  Scot- 
tish body,  wha  yer  ain  Captain  kens  ta  be  ane  hon- 
est lad,  ta  which  ye  may  ken  yer  nainsel',  an'  ye 
but  speer  him  o't." 

"And  what  are  you  out  this  time  of  night,  for?" 
still  interrogated  the  voice.  '- 

"Wha's  na  in  maun  be  out,"  replied  the  imper- 
turbable highlander;  "an"  wha  canna  win  ta  his 
journey's  end  by  light,  maun  e'en  tak'  ta  neicht 
for't  when  he  ha'na  siller  ta  pay  ta  lawin'  " 

"Well,  advance  and  give  the  countersign." 

"Hout,  fye,  mon,"  said  Alick ;  "na  lang  syne 
ye  bid  me  haut,  an'  now  ye  bid  me  advance,  an' 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^-S^-^X^^^^^^X^X-^^-^X-^^^N^^-^^-^. 

e'en  gi'e  ye  what  I  ha'e  ne'er  kenned.  When  yer 
ain  mind's  na  sa  crotchit  on  yer  wus,  an'  ye  \vud 
tnak't  manii'est  Fse  obey  wi'  plasure." 

••Forward  march,  then,  you  simple  Sawney  !" 
exclaimed  the  voice,  with  considerable  anger  in 
its  tones,  while  the  click  of  the  lock  was  heard, 
again,  with  startling  distinctness. 

"An"  s'uld  I  do  yer  bidding,  I'se  be  compelled 
to  wat  mv  shanks  an'  bonnie  trews  i'  ta  svke  whar 
ta  water's  na  sa  meikle  clean's  I  wrus  it,  preceese- 
ly,"  replied  Cameron,  who  had  promptly  faced  a 
small  quagmire  by  the  roadside,  and  was  covertly 
grinning  at  the  increasing  wrath  of  the  badgered 
sentinel. 

"Come-straight-to-me,  and  be  d d  to  you  !" 

shouted  the  dismounted  dragoon,  determined  to  be 
understood  by  his  tormentor  who,  he  was  more  than 
half  inclined  to  believe  was  not  so  simple  as  he  pre- 
tended, and  was  making  game  of  him. 

From  this  peremptory  mandate  there  seemed  to 
be  no  appeal  and  Alick,  reluaantly  it  is  true,  obey- 
ed, muttering  as  he  did  so  : — 

"Aewillfu'  mon  maun  ha'e  his  way,  an'  ta  dee- 
vil  drives." 

\\  ith  but  few  preliminaries  the  Scotchman  was 
started  on  his  way  to  headquarters,  accompanied 
by  his  captor.  Now  this  was  a  different  state  of 
aflairs  and  one  in  which  Cameron  took  but  little 
pleasure.  He  had  been  on  important  business  and 
the  anticipated  delay  had  made  the  report  of  his 
success  or  failure  already  too  late  ;  and  this  added 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  33 

misfortune,  unless  soon  counteracted,  must  detain 
him  so  long  that  the  meeting'  of  his  friends  at  the 
"shed"  would  be  broken  up  before  he  could  make 
his  appearance.  To  shorten  the  period  of  his  de- 
tention then  was  at  once  made  the  subject  of  his 
thoughts,  and  he  hastily  ran  over,  in  his  mind,  sev- 
eral expedients,  among  which  and  not  the  least 
prominent  was  the  idea  of  knocking  down  his  es- 
cort and  taking  to  his  heels  and  thus  escaping ;  but 
this  plan  was  soon  rejected  when  he  saw,  at  least, 
within  ten  rods  of  each  other  along  the  street,  sim- 
ilar sentinels  to  the  one  that  had  captured  him,  and 
the  gauntlet  to  be  run  seemed  too  risky.  At  last 
his  countenance  cleared  itself  of  the  frown  of  in- 
tense study  and  drawing  a  pint  flask  from  his  coat 
pocket,  he  exclaimed  as  he  drew  the  cork  : — 

"Bide  a  wee,  mon,  bide  a  wee,"  and  applying 
the  bottle  to  his  lips,  drank,  apparently,  nearly  a 
half  of  its  contents. 

Scarcely  twenty  rods  were  traversed  when  again 
he  paused  with  the  same  remark  and  the  same  mo- 
tions. Now  this  was  a  proceeding  to  which  the 
Englishman  naturally  objected,  not  so  much  that 
Cameron  drank  as  that  himself  did  not ;  and  when 
a  third  hoarse:  "Bide  a  wee,  mon,"  like  the  mut- 
tering thunder  premonitive  of  the  shower  of  moist- 
ure that  only  seemed  to  strike  the  Scotchman's  gul- 
let, was  uttered,  and  the  bottle  again  elevated,  not 
dissimilar  to  some  baton  of  authority,  and  Alick's 
windpipe  began  to  expand  and  collapse  in  regular 
order,  than  he  snatched  the  flask  from  its  position. 


•».|  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

But,  alas,  the  deed  was  done.  If  the  bottle  had 
contained  anything  heretofore,  it  was  now  empty, 
and  the  best  of  his  sucking  only  resulted  in  the 
formation  of  a  partial  vacuum  by  the  exhaustion  of 
a  portion  of  the  air,  now  its  only  contents ;  and, 
though  the  incense  was  there,  the  spirit  had  depar- 
ted, and  found  sepulchre  in  Cameron's  stomach. 

Remarkable  as  it  may  appear,  the  half-mile  re- 
quired to  be  traversed  between  the  spot  where  Al- 
ick  had  taken  his  last  drink  and  the  tavern  now  the 
temporary  head-quarters  of  the  troop,  was  scarcely 
gone  over  before  the  incipient  consequences  of  the 
Scotchman's  generous  libations,  began  to  make 
themselves  manifest ;  to  such  a  degree,  indeed  had 
the  liquor  suddenly  affected  him  that  he  was  not 
raised  the  rive  or  six  steps  requisite  to  placing  him 
on  the  level  of  the  veranda,  without  some  conside- 
rable assistance  from  his  conductor,  and  the  latter's 
steadying  hand  was  required  to  assist  him  into  a 
chair  in  the  bar-room  of  the  establishment.  The 
room  contained  some  half-dozen  of  the  officers  of 
the  corps,  among  them  Captain  Stanfield,  to  whom 
the  vidette  made  his  report  and  delivered  his  pris- 
oner. The  latter  task  was  very-  easy,  as  that  indi- 
vidual was  almost  immediately  in  a  sound  sleep, 
and  hanging  uncomfortably  over  one  of  the  arms, 
which  alone  prevented  his  huge  bulk  from  being 
precipitated  its  whole  length  upon  the  floor.  No 
doubt  the  uneasiness  of  the  Scotchman's  position 
was  the  cause  of  his  loud  and  discordant  snoring, 
as  well  as  the  other  incontrovertable  signs  of  heavy 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  35 

drinking  that  soon  followed  and  drew  the  attention 
of  the  officers  present. 

"Here,  you,"  exclaimed  Captain  Stanfield,  as 
these  latter  sounds  fell  upon  his  ears ;  "both  of  you, 
take  this  drunken  beast  out  of  here,  and  let  him 
get  rid  .of  his  superabundance  of  whiskey,  that  he 
seems  inclined  to." 

The  only  two  sentinels  at  the  door  entered  and, 
depositing  their  carbines  in  a  corner,  lifted  the  un- 
wieldy carcase  of  the  drunken  man,  to  an  upright 
position,  by  main  strength,  and,  after  some  efforts, 
amid  the  laughs  and  jeers  of  the  officers,  induced 
the  unfortunate  Cameron  to  bear  some  weight  on 
his  feet.  This  end  attained  they  commenced  a 
very  slow,  very  zig-zag  and  very  unsteadv  march 
to  the  door  way,  where,  after  lowering  him  to  the 
ground  and  conducting  him  to  the  corner  post  of 
the  veranda  and  clasping  his  arm  around  it,  thev 
left  him,  the  cool  night  air  seeming  to  recuperate 
his  energies  sufficiently  for  the  purpose,  to  main- 
tain his  equilibrium  with  that  assistance.  The  sol- 
diers seated  themselves  upon  the  steps  in  front  of 
the  main  door,  some  twenty  feetawav  and  left  poor 
Cameron  to  his  own  unassisted  efforts. 

This  situation  was  the  one  to  which  the  Scotch- 
man's wit  had  been  bent ;  and  spurred  on  by  some 
conversation  he  had  heard  while  in  his  simulated 
sleep  in  the  bar-room,  he  suddenly  darted  oft*  like  a 
deer  at  the  sound  of  the  hound's  bay  and  with  the 
speed  of  a  quarter-horse,  ran  up  the  roacl  towards 
the  north.  Unfortunately  for  his  keepers,  their 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^*s+~i~*^~~+Sl+*~**~*^~~^*-^^~~' "• 

carbines  were  in  the  bar-room  and  their  pistols  in 
the  holsters  of  their  saddles ;  and  catching  the  fly- 
ing Scot  on  foot  was  like  running  a  race  with  the 
moon,  in  hopes  of  winning  it. 

Previous  to  these  events,  however,  the  Canadian 
had  pushed  the  willing  Logan  to  his  best  pace  in 
pursuit  of  the  flying  horseman.  Although  doubly 
burdened,  the  steed  of  that  individual  seemed  to 
carry  the  extra  weight  with  comparative  ease  ;  but 
not  having  the  natural  length  of  stride  belonging  to 
the  slimmer  Morgan,  nor  the  immense  powers  of 
endurance  accorded  by  the  cross  of  the  hunter  with 
it,  the  race  had  been  speedily  decided  had  it  not 
been  for  the  broken  girth  and  the  consequent  de- 
lay. As  it  was  when  he  we  have  heretofore  called 
the  Canadian,  crowned  the  last  hill  and  struck  the 
long  level  of  Steadville  street,  he  could  just  per- 
ceive the  sparkle  of  the  fire  produced  by  the  con- 
tact of  the  shoes  of  the  retreating  horse,  with  the 
hard  surface  of  the  McAdamised  road,  fullv  one 
hundred  rods  in  advance  and  almost  to  the  tavern, 
whence  Alick  Cameron  was,  not  long  afterwards, 
to  escape.  A  word  to  the  noble  Logan  increased 
his  already  speedy  gait  to  one  of  terrific  velocity, 
while  the  rider  kept  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  line  of 
sparks,  showing  the  locality  of  the  chase.  Intently 
as  he  watched,  however,  the  indications  suddenly 
ceased,  but  to  be  renewed  again  as  clearing  a  brick 
building  on  the  corner,  the  scintellating  line  passed 
rapidly  along  a  road,  running  out  of,  and  at  right 
angles  with,  his  former  conrse,  and  leadin"  directly 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  37 

westward  from  near  the  front  of  the  head-quarters 
of  Captain  Stanfield's  troop. 

The  pursuing  equestrian  was  destined  soon  to 
discover  more  hindrances  than  length  of  road,  to 
his  purpose  of  overhauling  his  chase  ;  for  scarcely 
had  he  discovered  the  sudden  change  of  direction 
adopted  by  his  pursued,  than  the  conventional  chal- 
lenge of  the  sentinels  he  was  so  hurriedly  passing, 
began  to  fall  upon  his  ears,  not  as  the  consecutive 
utterance  of  a  single  man,  for,  while  the  "Halt!" 
of  one  was  being  lost  by  distance  and  the  clatter 
of  his  horse's  hoofs  upon  the  hard  road,  the  "Who 
goes — "  of  another,  and  then  the  hastily  ejaculated 
"there?"  of  still  another,  in  as  many  different  tones 
as  three  different  individuals  would  naturally  use; 
but  so  great  was  his  speed,  sufficiently  connected 
to  constitute  a  very  passable  single  hail.  To  this 
the  Canadian  paid  little  attention  ;  but,  prudently, 
checking  his  horse,  that  he  might  turn  the  abrupt 
corner  with  safety,  his  idea  of  a  lucky  escape  was 
suddenly  changed  when  he  perceived,  as  revealed 
by  the  moonlight,  a  half-dozen  red-coated  troopers 
forming  a  line  across  the  road.  He  knew  full  well 
that  a  continuation  of  the  pursuit  was  tantamount 
to  capture,  accordingly,  by  a  pressure  of  the  knee, 
accompanied  by  a  low  command  to  his  steed,  the 
intelligent,  well  trained  creature  dropped  almost 
upon  his  haunches,  and  turned  like  lightning,  on 
his  hind  feet  as  a  pivot,  and  in  another  instant  was 
in  full  career  up  the  main  street  of  the  village,  to 
the  northward. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Tliis  time  the  challenge  was  sufficiently  plainly 
spoken  and  in  so  like  a  tone  that  it  was  evident  as 
coming  from  one  man;  but  inclination  to  pause  or 
answer  seemed  no  part  of  the  Canadian's  purpose, 
nor  was  he  surprised  when  in  default  of  either,  a 
pistol  shot  was  heard  followed  by  the  thundering 
tramp  of  the  troop  horses,  as  they  commenced  a 
pursuit  that  the  sudden  turning  of  the  tables  made 
expected.  A  curl  of  the  lip  in  scorn,  when  the 
idea  presented  itself,  that  the  dragoons  should  at- 
tempt a  chase  of  his  flyer  by  the  ordinary  cavalry 
horse  of  the  period,  showed  itself  around  the  Can- 
adian's mouth,  but  it  was  soon  changed  to  a  look 
of  astonisnment,  when  a  voice  from  the  tavern  ve- 
randa stopped  the  pursuers,  by  a  command  to  that 
erled. 

The  average  Englishman,  whether  cavalryman 
or  not ;  soldier  or  citizen,  is  not  usually  of  a  yield- 
ing nature ;  on  the  contrary,  of  that  bull-dog  per- 
tinacity of  disposition  that  pauses  not  when  the  in- 
clination is  bent  upon  an  object:,  however  slim  the 
chance  of  success,  unless  some  ulterior  purpose  is 
in  view.  This  thought  at  once  struck  the  menaced 
rider  and  while  he  slackened  his  horse's  speed,  to 
save  his  wind,  he  began  to  surmise  the  meaning 
of  the  order.  That  he  was  recognized  by  the  cav- 
alry, certain  exclamations  on  their  parts  rendered 
certain,  and  that  his  capture  was  paramount,  in 
their  minds,  was  well  known  to  himself,  and  the 
sudden  relinquishment  of  a  pursuit  tending  to  that 
end,  was  as  strange  as  it  was  unexpected.  These 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  39 


fads  when  added  to  the  presence  of  the  question- 
able Heath  at  Morrison's  tavern  and  the  incident 
of  the  partially  severed  circingle,  augmented  by  the 
other  signs,  small  in  themselves,  but  each  contrib- 
ting  its  part  to  the  general  whole,  like  the  last  par- 
cels Lo  an  overloaded  wagon,  of  themselves  not 
sufficient  to  do  it  injury  but,  when  added  to  an  al- 
ready too  cumbersome  burden,  induced  the  chron- 
ically suspicious  object  of  the  several  incongruities, 
to  anticipate  movements  menacing  greater  calami- 
ties than  his  own  mere  capture. 

Unable,  without  further  time  than  was  accorded 
him  by  the  limited  space  required  to  reach  his  des- 
tination, to  sufficiently  systemize  his  cogitations  as 
to  solve  the  puzzle,  the  horseman,  avoiding  the  di- 
rect road  to  the  end  of  his  journey,  when  he  had 
passed  the  entire  village,  as  it  then  existed,  he  took 
the  right  hand  road,  bearing  the  same  relation  to 
the  straight  one  that  the  upper,  right-hand  bar  of 
the  printer's  capital  Y  does  to  the  downward  stroke, 
he  pursued  it  some  sixty  rods,  rinding  a  lower  spot 
in  the  highway  fence,  his  steed  turned  and  vaulted 
over  into  the  field,  forming  the  space  between  the 
road  he  had  pursued  and  the  one  he  had  avoided, 
cantered  lightly  across  the  yielding  sward,  leaped 
into  the  highway,  passed  directly  across  it  and  the 
other  bounding  fence  and  paused  under  the  wide- 
spreading  branches  of  a  maple  close  at  hand. 

He  found  himself  in  a  field  of  level  grass-land . 
containing  perhaps  eighty  acres,  without  tree,  bush, 
building  or  other  encroachment,  save  about  midway 


••'• 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


and  perhaps  thirty  rods  from  the  road,  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  square  stack  of  hay,  covered  by 
boards,  rudely  supported  by  transverse  poles  lying 
in  the  forks  of  crotched  stakes  at  each  of  the  four 
corners.  The  Canadian  paused  for  a  moment  and 
sent  a  searching  glance  in  every  direction,  up  and 
down  the  road  and  across  the  adjoining  fields,  when 
seemingly  satisfied  of  his  being  alone  and  un  watch- 
ed, he  sent  along  the  night  air  the  well  counterfeit- 
ed howl  of  the  watch-dog.  The  sharp  answering 
bark  of  what  seemed  several  other  curs  was  imme- 
diately heard  from  various  quarters,  and  evidently 
in  the  same  field,  followed  bv  the  deeper  bav  of  an 
apparent  hound  near  the  hay-stack,  or  "shed."  As 
if  these  were  preconcerted  signals  announcing  his 
presence,  and  the  reply,  the  horseman,  after  again 
casting  his  eyes  around,  began  to  move  forward, 
when  he  was,  in  a  measure,  startled  bv  hearing  a 
slight  rustling  in  the  branches  and  leaves  beneath 
which  he  was  ensconced,  and  the  almost  simulta- 
neous dropping  of  a  light  body  upon  the  rump  of 
his  horse,  and  the  feeling  of  something  touching 
either  shoulder. 

As  much  as  the  matters  before  related  would 
naturally  disquiet  anyone  their  object,  the  startled 
sensation  was  but  of  a  moment's  duration,  for  he 
seemed  to  surmise  at  once  the  meaning,  and  an  af- 
fectionate smile,  if  such  an  indication  of  feeling 
may  be  traced  upon  the  face  of  a  man,  especially 
of  one  as  expressive  as  that  of  the  Canadian,  took 
the  place  of  the  one  of  astonishment  there  before. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Hello,  my  Hector,  you  seem  to  be  on  deck," 
said  the  Canadian,  in  a  low  tone,  as  he  checked, 
with  gentle  hand,  the  evidences  of  fright  on  the 
part  of  his  steed,  induced  by  the  sudden  landing 
of  the  unexpected  weight  upon  him.  "-And  how 
are  matters  to-night,  my  bov  ?" 

"Right,  or  about  right,"  answered  a  shrill,  pe- 
culiar voice  from  over  his  shoulder,  at  the  same 
time  feeling  a  light  kiss  upon  his  cheek  ;  "and  how 
are  Captain  Herbert  Lorimer  and  Logan?" 

"Neither  of  us  the  worse  for  seeing  Hector,"  re- 
plied the  elder  brother,  in  a  voice  as  gentle  and 
loving  as  ever  mother  used  in  her  address  to  her 
child.  "I  have  ridden  him  pretty  hard  to-night 
and  he  will  need  the  best  of  care." 

However  much  the  gallant  rebel  captain  mani- 
fested afteclion  for  his  little  brother,  there  seemed 
to  be  another,  unable  to  express  it,  save  in  mute 
signs,  but  as  lavish  of  his  love  in  his  own  manner, 
as  was  the  one  endowed  with  speech,  for,  when 
the  intelligent  horse  heard  his  name  spoken  in  that 
peculiar  voice,  a  tremble  of  joy  seemed  to  pervade 
his  whole  frame  and,  with  alow  whinny  of  delight 
he  turned  his  head  in  expectation  of  the  caress  he 
met,  and  by  every  manifestation  possible,  save  that 
of  words,  testified  his  joyous  recognition  of  the 
soothing  hand,  passing  so  gently  and  with  such  a 
mesmeric  touch,  around  his  ears  and  down  his  face 
and  nostrils. 

"There,  Heclor,  you  have  spoilt  Logan  for  my 
use,  for  the  present,"  said  Lorimer,  in  a  pleasant 


I- 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


tone  as  he  dismounted  ;  "and  you  may  as  well  take 
him  here  as  anywhere.  Don't  feed  him  until  he  is 
cool.  I  watered  him  a  mile  or  two  back." 

The  figure  now  occupying  the  saddle  was  one 
deserving  more  notice  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot 
of  equiries.  It  was  but  little  over  four  feet  high, 
and  almost  the  perfection  of  form,  on  a  miniature 
scale,  save  the  extreme  length  of  the  arms  and  its 
slender  proportions.  Notwithstanding  this  fact, 
a  close  observer  of  this  singular  specimen  of  dwarf-, 
ed  manhood,  would  perceive  the  immense  strength 
enveloped  in  the  almost  attenuated  form  ;  for  every 
muscle  and  sinew  was  as  elastic  and  strong  as  the 
most  rigid  training  from  infancy  could  make  it,  and 
the  long,  slim  fingers  had  the  grip  of  a  vice.  In- 
deed in  many  a  contest  with  men  of  ordinary  stat- 
ure and  more  than  ordinary  physical  strength,  the 
dwarf,  Heclor  Lorimer,  had  never  yet,  remarkable 
as  it  may  seem,  found  his  superior,  in  strength  and 
endurance,  and  for  agility  in -leaping,  running  and 
other  feats  of  activity,  an  equal. 

The  face  was  of  rare  beauty,  almost  feminine  in 
its  loveliness,  its  gentleness  and  its  power  of  ex- 
pressing the  passions,  of  hate  or  love,  of  anger  or 
pleasure.  He  wore  his  hair,  a  light  chestnut,  very 
long  and  in  curls.  His  clothing  was  a  suit  of  the 
finest  of  green  broadcloth,  scrupulously  neat,  with 
a  cap  of  the  same,  and  moccassins  of  Indian  tann- 
ed moose-hide,  profusely  embroidered.  His  age, 
though  he  appeared  much  younger,  on  account  of 
his  size,  was  a  little  over  twenty  years. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  43 

CHAPTER    III. 

GATHERING    SCATTERED    THREADS. 

>>HE  weaver,  when  he  prepares  his  web  for 
the  loom,  selects  each  thread  of  warp  sin- 
gly and  passes  it  through  its  special  part 
of  the  harness,  and  between  the  reeds,  be- 
fore he  spools  the  woof  or  drives  the  shuttle.  The 
novelist  gathers  from  such  quarters  as  best  supply 
his  needs,  the  several  characters  of  his  tale,  assigns 
to  each  his  particular  place  in  his  harness,  until  the 
warp  of  his  story  is  complete,  ere  he  prepares  or 
uses  the  weft  of  adventure  that  is  the  proper  filling 
of  his  web  of  fiction  ;  and  like  the  weaver,  if  he  is 
successful,  he  many  times,  by  aid  of  treadle,  drops 
the  thread  he  has  lately  made  prominent  by  use  in 
the  figure  just  completed,  below  the  surface,  and 
raises  others  to  the  view  of  the  spectator.  In  or- 
der then  to  be  a  successful  weaver  of  romance  we 
will  drop,  for  the  time  being,  some  characters  now 
fully  in  harness,  and  search  new  dramatis  per sonce 
and  bring  them  up  to  the  place  attained  by  the  rest. 
Some  five  or  six  miles  to  the  westward  of  Stead- 
ville  lies  one  of  the  most  beautiful  lakes  in  Canada. 
It  is  nearly  thirty  miles  in  length,  and  varying  from 
one  to  five  in  breadth,  bordered  nearly  its  entire 
length  by  hills  and  mountains  ;  some  of  them,  even 
at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  cleared  of  the  nat- 
ural forest  and  clothed  in  grass  to  their  summits, 
and  others  yet  covered  with  heavy  growths  of  tim- 
ber, consisting,  near  the  base,  of  Maple,  Birch  and 


II 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


Beech,  with  other  and  less  abundant  specimens  of 
hard  wood,  while  further  up,  tha  Spruce  and  Hem- 
lock prevailed,  but  growing  gradually  smaller  as 
they  were  situated  still  higher  up,  until  among  the 
roughly  seamed  ledges  of  rock  forming  the  sum- 
mits, the  giant  bolls  of  a  lower  position,  came  to 
be  mere  stunted  bushes  and  shrubs ;  at  a  distance, 
resembling  the  scattering  and  bristling  hair  on  the 
head  of  nearly  bald  age.  The  hills  and  mountains 
bordering  the  shores  were  unsustained  by  any  em- 
inences at  their  back ;  the  country  around  about 
being  level,  or  merely  rising  in  gentle  undulations 
of  arable  soil,  just  sufficient  to  relieve  the  eyes  of 
the  weariness  usually  given  to  them  bv  the  unvary- 
ing monotony  of  a  plain,  be  it  in  never  so  high  a 
state  of  cultivation. 

This  peculiarity  might  well  lead  the  imaginative 
beholder  to  see  in  its  formation,  so  like  was  it  to 
some  cavity  or  trench  dug  in  a  meadow  by  human 
labor,  and  the  earth  and  stones  removed  from  it  de- 
posited upon  its  edges,  evidences  that,  when  time 
commenced,  some  giants  who  lived  in  those  days, 
had  excavated  the  bed  of  the  lake  and  heaped  the 
refuse  matter  upon  its  shores,  there  to  remain  until 
nature  in  her  providence  had  clothed  the  unsightly 
mass  in  her  universal  livery  of  green,  and  made 
beautiful  what  it  could  not  remove,  as  the  pearl- 
oyster  coats  the  irritating  grains  of  sand  that  have 
gained  entrance  to  its  shell,  with  such  layers  as  oft 
repeated,  erewhile  become  pearls. 

On  the  eastern  shore  of  this  lake,  and  some  ten 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  45 

miles  from  its  upper  or  southern  end,  and  almost 
directly  west  from  Steadville,  was  one  of  the  rough- 
est and  most  uncouth  elevations  on  the  banks.  Its 
whole  surface  rising  in  some  instances  to  the  height 
of  four  hundred  feet,  was  broken  into  ravines,  fis- 
sures and  chasms  many  times  from  fifty  to  an  hun- 
dred feet  in  depth  ;  sometimes  running  in  one  di- 
rection and  sometimes  in  another ;  filled  in  many 
instances  with  fallen  trees,  thickly  growing  brush- 
wood or  littered  with  debris  of  the  mountain  and, 
in  one  or  two  places,  containing  small  brooks  tum- 
bling in  wild  tumult  down  their  rugged  sides,  some 
times  in  frothy  cascades  and  at  others  foaming  over 
boulders  of  granite  or  slabs  of  slate  rock,  mingled 
here  in  most  inextricable  confusion.  A  more  wildly 
picturesque  specimen  of  nature  in  its  ruggedest 
phase,  scarcely  ever  trod  by  the  foot  of  the  most 
venturesome,  and  unpruned  of  a  single  feature  of 
its  harshest  and  rudest  raggedness,  could  be  found. 
To  compensate  for  this  mad  freak  of  nature  in 
her  most  insane  mood,  and  to  make  the  contrast 
more  glaring  between  uncultivated  creation  and 
genial  cause,  under  the  mellowing  hand  of  man, 
the  entire  base  of  the  mountain,  except  about  two 
miles  on  the  lake  shore,  was  surrounded  by  smooth, 
well-tilled  fields,  without  mound  or  hillock,  and 
carpeted  by  sward  as  rich  as  many  lawns.  From 
the  lake  shore  on  the  north  to  where  the  level  land 
again  reached  it  on  the  south,  as  before  said,  was 
scarcely  more  than  two  miles  in  a  straight  line,  yet 
to  follow  the  roadway,  winding  around  the  base  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  mountain,  it  was  fully  five  miles,  for  the  reason 
that  the  mountain  was  somewhat  longer  east  and 
west  than  it  was  from  north  to  south  ;  and  to  com- 
municate between  the  two  farm  houses,  one  on  the 
lake  shore  at  the  north  and  another  at  the  south, 
required  that  amount  of  travel,  except  by  footmen, 
sometimes,  when  they  took  advantage  of  a  gorge, 
or  rather,  two  of  them,  running  across  the  eleva- 
tion, by  which  at  least  half  the  distance  was  saved. 
We  have  said  sometimes,  and  not  without  a  pur- 
pose, for  but  few,  even  of  the  sterner  sex,  but  pre- 
ferred the  longer  route  around,  to  the  shorter  cut 
across,  even  under  a  midday  sun,  and  he,  whom 
chance  ordained  should  be  on  the  road  at  night  or 
even  during  the  compromise  between  day  and  night 
the  twilight  of  our  northern  clime,  would  no  soon- 
er think  of  crossing  the  mountain,  than  of  taking 
the  still  shorter  but  less  feasible  route  by  swimming 
the  two  miles  of  lake  intervening.  This  reluctance 
extended  farther  than  to  the  ignorant  and  supersti- 
tious, for  even  the  learned  of  the  locality  were  av- 
erse, though  not,  perhaps,  equally  so,  to  traverse 
the  dark  passage.  This  repugnance  was  attributa- 
ble to  the  seemingly  well  founded  hypothesis,  if  the 
melancholy  and  somewhat  startling  truth  must  be 
told,  that  the  path  was  haunted.  Many  a  person 
scouted  this  idea,  and  laughed  the  silly  tale,  as  they 
called  it,  to  ridicule;  but,  nevertheless,  when  the 
time  came  when  occasion  led  them  to  traverse  the 
debatable  ground,  business  or  other  circumstances, 
invariably  led  these  same  scoffers  to  seled  the  more 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  47 

lengthy  road  ;  though  what  business  could  call  them 
so  much  out  of  the  way,  \vas  ever  a  mystery,  as 
there  was  neither  house  or  other  building  in  the 
entire  distance;  but  perhaps  their  business,  at  that 
time,  was  avoiding  the  ghosts  in  the  pass. 

Some  fifteen  years  previous  to  the  raising  of  the 
curtain  on  this  drama  and  the  entrance  of  our  char- 
acters on  the  scene,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  rising 
over  the  highlands  to  the  eastward,  a  boat,  bearing 
a  man,  woman  and  boy,  approached  the  shore  of 
the  lake,  a  few  rods  to  the  southward  of  where  the 
isolated  mountain  we  have  endeavored  to  describe, 
abuts  upon  the  water  and  nearly  opposite  to  a  fine 
farm  house,  the  residence  of  Arthur  Leonard,  the 
owner  of  the  allodium.  The  man  was  a  dark,  mo- 
rose, beetle-browed  personage,  some  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  fully  six  feet  in  height  and  propor- 
tioned accordingly.  His  hair  was  as  black  as  jet, 
though,  even  at  that  early  age,  sprinkled  here  and 
there  with  a  thread  of  white,  as  were  his  whiskers. 
The  woman  slim,  pale  and  dejected  looking,  but 
with  many  indications  of  beauty,  banished  by  care 
and  anxiety,  except  the  eyes  which  were  yet  bright 
and  piercing,  almost  unnaturally  so,  betraying  to  a 
close  observer  quasi  indications  of  a  predisposition 
to  insanity.  The  boy  was  about  ten  years  of  age, 
and  with  the  exception  of  his  light  hair  and  com- 
plexion and  blue  eyes,  inherited  from  his  mother, 
and  a  certain  subdued  cheerfulness  and  boyish  gai- 
ety, borrowed  from  youth,  so  perfect  a  resemblance 
of  the  man,  as  to  put  the  question  of  paternity  out 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  dispute  or  cavail,  were  any  raised.  They  were 
dressed  plainly  but  comfortably,  in  appropriate 
clothing,  for  their  apparent  rank  and  the  season  of 
summer  then  closely  approaching. 

Carefully  mooring  his  boat  the  man  brought  frorn 
it  a  small  but  apparently  heavy  chest ;  the  woman 
several  vessels  of  culinary  use,  and  the  boy  gather- 
ed up  a  rifle,  its  adjuncts  of  powder-flask  and  ball 
pouch,  a  small  axe  and  a  trace  chain.  Thus  bur- 
dened the  trio,  under  direction  of  the  man,  turned 
toward  the  mountain  and  soon  entered  the  mouth 
of  one  of  the  numerous  ravines  elsewhere  mention- 
ed. They  advanced,  however,  but  a  few  rods  up* 
its  course  before  they  paused  and  the  man,  after  a 
hasty  survey  of  the  locality,  seemed  satisfied  with 
its  adaptability  to  his  purpose,  and  after  deposit- 
ing his  chest  and  seeing  that  his  companions  had 
disencumbered  themselves  of  their  burdens,  set 
about  constructing  a  temporary  shelter,  from  rocks 
and  fragments  of  the  ledge  lying  near,  close  by  a 
spring  that  there  issued  from  a  cavity  in  the  stony 
soil  and  drained  itself  down  the  gorge  ;  the  wife 
and  son  assisting,  to  the  best  of  their  ability  in  the 
task.  No  word  was  spoken  by  them,  except  such 
as  were  necessary  to  the  successful  prosecution  of 
the  undertaking  in  hand. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  shelter 

was  completed  ;  when  the  man,  after  partaking  of 

.a  plain  but  plenteous  meal,  prepared    by  his  wife, 

from  the  contents  of  the  cooking  utensils,  the  first 

that  the  three  somewhat   mysterious  voyagers  had 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  49 

partaken  during  the  day ;  made  his  way  to  farmer 
Leonard's  house,  and  finding  that  individual  there, 
was  soon  engaged  with  him  in  earnest  conversation 
apart  from  the  other  members  of  his  family  ;  which 
being  kept  however  secret  from  all  others,  we  will, 
with  the  romancer's  and  his  readers'  privilege,  in 
all  such  cases  fully  accorded,  be  present,  and  si- 
lent listeners. 

The  stranger  said  that  his  name  was  William  I. 
Printer;  that  he  was  a  Welchman,  and  by  profes- 
sion a  miner;  that  he  had  been  a  resident  of  a  mi- 
ning district  to  the  northward,  for  some  years,  and 
had,  the  summer  before,  under  directions  of  his 
employers,  prospected  the  mountains  on  the  lake 
shore,  in  search  of  minerals  ;  that  having  made  the 
eminence  near  at  hand  an  especial  objecit  of  scru- 
tiny from  its  geological  resemblance  to  other  eleva- 
tions that  had  proved  rich  in  ore,  in  other  localities, 
he  had  discovered  plain  traces  of  copper,  whether 
sufficiently  developed  to  warrant  any  great  outlay 
of  capital,  at  the  present  time,  was  uncertain  ;  that 
a  discharge  from  employment  had  given  him  time 
and  opportunity  to  continue  his  investigations,  and 
that  he  would  enter  into  any  arrangement  that  was 
agreeable  to  Mr.  Leonard  for  a  prosecution  of  the 
enterprise,  as  a  purchaser,  and  alone,  for  he  had 
sufficient  means  to  do  so,  or  in  a  partnership,  to 
which  he  would  contribute  his  labor  and  skill  as 
against  capital,  which  Leonard  might  wish  to  ven- 
ture in  a  project  he  was  well  assured  had  no  prob- 
able chance  of  failure. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^*s~*^^^^~*^^-+^^^~,~*^~r^ •"*. 

Whoever  is  acquainted  with  a  man,  not  deterred 
bv  religious  scruples  or  hindered  bv  impecuniosity, 
be  he  never  so  cautious  in  other  transactions  of  a 
financial  nature  who,  fully  convinced  of  a  prize, 
whether  rightfully  or  wrongfully  so,  it  matters  not, 
will  fail  to  buy  a  lottery  ticket?  And  mining,  of 
all  lotteries,  seems  to  be  the  most  seductive.  The 
hope,  often  deferred  so  long  as  even  to  make  the 
heart  sick,  has  many  an  incentive  to  increase  as  the 
work  progresses ;  and  expectation  is  more  often  on 
the  tip-toe  in  that  occupation  than  in  any  other  that 
usually  employs  humanity.  The  unprejudiced  ob- 
server mav  never  see  the  promise  of  success  so  pa- 
tent to  the  delver  for  hidden  treasure  and  the  pur- 
suit maybe,  to  him,  eggregious  folly,  that  to  the 
enthusiast  has  charms  more  enticing  than  the  wine 
cup  to  the  drunkard ;  the  most  beautiful  in  form 
and  feature  to  the  libertine  or  the  brightest  crown 
in  the  celestial  store-house  of  treasures  laid  up  by 
those  on  earth,  to  the  most  devout  and  truly  sincere 
religionist. 

Is  it  any  wonder  then,  with  this  view  of  that  pe- 
culiar frailty  of  human  organization  admitted,  that 
a  bargain  was  struck  between  the  hitherto  cautious 
and  painstaking  Arthur  Leonard  and  the  strange 
adventurer,  especially  as  the  latter,  during  the  ne- 
gotiations, had  shown  the  other  several  rich  speci- 
mens of  ore  which,  for  a  wonder,  he  had  adhially 
obtained  from  the  mountain,  though  he  had  only 
the  miner's  word  as  a  guarantee  of  it,  questionable, 
at  least,  by  which  an  equal  share  of  the  labor  was 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

to  be  borne  by  each,  and  Leonard  was  to  provide 
a  greater  part  of  the  expense,  against  a  lesser  por- 
tion and  the  skill  of  his  partner ;  the  evidences  of 
sincerity  of  each,  in  the  form  of  duly  executed  doc- 
uments of  bargain  and  agreement,  to  be  prepared, 
on  the  following  day,  from  the  pen  of  alavvverantl 
convevancer  at  Steadville? 

The  necessary  construction  of  a  dwelling-place 
for  Pruyter  and  his  family  followed  this  consuma- 
tion  of  the  contract,  ere  any  work  was  performed 
in  the  strict  line  of  the  copartnership  business  and 
soon  the  pass,  before  mentioned,  resounded  to  the 
noise  of  hammer  and  bar  and  drill,  as  a  commo- 
dious stone  house  was  being  ereded  on  the  high- 
est, which  proved  to  be  nearlv  the  central  part ; 
at  a  point  where  a  lesser  transverse  gorge,  extend- 
ing east  and  west,  intersected  with  the  pass.  A 
few  idle  spectators,  hearing  of  the  great  things  to 
be  done  in  the  mountain,  straved  occasionally-,  for 
a  few  days,  to  the  scene  of  labor ;  but  as  a  general 
consequence  of  a  secluded  locality,  sparsely  inhab- 
ited and  of  the  secrecy  of  their  movements,  no  ex- 
tended knowledge  of  the  matter  was  disseminated  ; 
and  the  work  went  on  with  but  little  interruption, 
after  the  first  week  or  two. 

The  house  finished  and  occupied,  the  first  trans- 
actions of  the  firm  of  Pruyter  &  Leonard  were  to 
engage  a  half-do/en  laborers,  who  were  emploved 
in  driving  a  tunnel  some  eightv  to  ninetv  vards  into 
the  face  of  a  cliff  bordering  the  transverse  gorge, 
and  sinking  a  shaft  from  the  surface  above,  down  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^•^•V^- ^ -^•^~^->*^_^^-^~^s^-'- 

the-  drift.  For  several  yards  the  indications  con- 
tinned  good,  but  at  that  point  they  began  to  depre- 
ciate in  value,  until,  at  the  end  of  fifty  yards,  all 
traces  entirely  ceased  ;  nor  did  the  shaft  develope 
any  better  prospedts.  The  object  of  continuing  the 
drift  to  the  extent  to  which  it  reached,  was  the  hope 
of  striking  another  and  richer  lead,  which  the  san- 
guine Welchman  confidently  expected,  both  from 
his  experience  of  similar  undertakings  and  that  en- 
thusiastic anticipation  inherent  in  every  miner's 
heart, whether  he  be  a  seeker  of  gold,  or  the  hum- 
ble delver  for  less  precious  metals. 

During  the  transpiration  of  these  matters,  the 
once  well  cared  for  lands  of  Leonard  failed  to  be 
farmed  with  the  thrift,  economy  and  neatness  of 
former  years.  The  fences,  for  the  year  that  these 
opperations  engaged,  showed  in  many  places  the 
need  of  the  careful  oversight  of  the  farmer;  the 
gates,  here  and  there,  were  minus  a  hinge  or  a  fas- 
tening; the  cattle,  from  want  of  proper  care,  did 
not  have  the  appearance  of  fatness  and  sleekness, 
once  their  condition,  and  many  a  weed  and  bush 
sprang  up  in  rank  exuberance  where  they  were  not 
known  before.  This  state  of  affairs  was  not  long 
in  being  noticed  and  commented  upon  by  his  neigh- 
bors and,  more  especially,  by  his  brother,  Carlos 
Leonard,  the  owner  and  dweller  on  the  farm  at  the 
north  of  the  mountain.  Many  an  unbrotherly  con- 
versation, consisting  of  hard  words  and  engender- 
ing bad  feelings  between  the  two,  was  the  result 
of  the  brother's  remonstrances  ;  but  as  useles  as  he 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  53 

might  have  known  they  would  be,  had  he  a  better 
knowledge  of  human  nature  than  his  somewhat 
limited  teachings  in  that  branch  of  metaphysics, 
had  enabled  him  to  acquire.  Arthur  Leonard's 
wife,  too,  a  young,  handsome,  but,  withal,  a  not 
very  strong  minded  woman,  added  her  dissent  to 
the  way  matters  were  progressing,  but  with  equal 
unsuccess. 

Fortunately  or  unfortunately,  as  the  reader  may 
ele6t,  these  bickerings  were  soon  discontinued  bv 
a  power  beyond  their  own  ;  for  on  a  summer  day, 
a  little  over  a  year  after  the  operations  had  com- 
menced, a  premature  discharge  of  a  blast  put  an 
end  to  them,  and  to  Arthur  Leonard's  life,  at  the 
same  time.  For  this  melancholy  occurence,  the 
miner  was  in  no  way  to  blame,  save  in  his  first  se- 
duction of  the  dead  man  from  his  legitimate  busi- 
ness;  but  a  general  feeling  of  repugnance  to  him, 
had  become  manifest,  reaching  no  farther  than  ver- 
bal expressions,  however,  and  he,  to  all  appearance 
continued  his  occupation,  but  was,  very  generally, 
shunned  by  the  people  of  the  vicinity.  His  former 
employes  gradually  left  him  and  in  their  places  he 
hired  others,  strangers,  to  fill  their  positions  until, 
at  the  end  of  a  couple  of  more  years,  the  force  en- 
gaged in  mining  operations  was  made  up,  with  a 

single  exception,  of  new  comers. 

In  the  settlement  of  Arthur  Leonard's  estate,  that 

followed,  Pruyter  showed  duly  executed  deeds  of 
the  mountain,  its  tenements,  hereditaments,  rights 

of  mining  and  occupancy,  and  properly  witnessed 


5  i 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 


acquittances  of  all  debts,  actions  and  choses  in  ac- 
tion, directly  and  indirectly  from  him,  and  signed 
1»\  Arthur  Leonard,  of  the  due  execution  of  which 
there  could  be  no  doubt.  While  the  legal  repre- 
sentatives of  the  dead  man's  heirs,  the  wife  and  a 
girl  child,  at  that  time  some  four  years  of  age,  by 
the  name  of  Helen,  could  not  question  the  genuine- 
ness and  legitimacy  of  these  documents,  they  were 
constrained  to  believe  that  some  undue  influence 
had  been  used  for  their  procurement ;  and  hoping 
that  some  evidence  might  be  obtained  of  the  facls, 
refused  to  fully  close  the  matter  in  issue  for  more 
than  three  vears.  In  this  interval,  as  before  stated, 
Pruyter  had  continued  his  labors  in  the  mountain, 
with  a  new  set  of  hands,  with  what  success  none 
were  aware,  for  but  few  encroached  on  his  domains 
and  he,  his  son  or  the  laborers  seldom  left  the  scene 
of  their  operations. 

In  July  of  the  fourth  summer  from  his  advent, 
Pruyter  was  seen,  with  all  his  help,  searching  the 
mountain,  the  surrounding  plains  and  the  lake,  and 
it  very  soon  transpired  that  his  wife  had  suddenly 
disappeared  and  they  were  hunting  some  trace  of 
her.  The  investigation  met  with  no  success  for  a 
fortnight;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  a  \ery  much 
decayed  and  mangled  female  form,  at  once  recog- 
nized as  hers,  from  the  dress,  was  found  in  the  lake. 
It  was  recovered  and  decently  buried,  and  matters 
resumed  their  usual  course,  excepting,  perhaps, 
the  discharge  of  three  of  his  hands  and  the  employ- 
ment of  two  others,  both  young  men  and  residents 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


of  Steadville.  Two  young  men  who  had  ever  be- 
fore shown  much  aversion  to  labor,  and  seemingly 
onlv  induced  to  their  present  occupation  by  the  en- 
ticing novelty  of  treasure  seeking. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  first  rumors  of  unnat- 
ural and  supernatural  sights  seen  in  the  mountain, 
began  to  float  through  the  surrounding  country. 
These  flying  reports  were  traced,  in  some  instances 
to  the  miners,  themselves,  and  in  others  to  those 
who  were,  apparently,  wholly  unconnected  with 
them.  As  elsewhere  remarked,  they  were  disbe- 
lieved by  many  ;  but  most  disbelievers  were  con- 
verted as  time  went  on,  for  some  of  the  residents 
of  the  vicinity  soon  began  to  tell  marvellous  stories 
of  their  own  experiences  in  this  modern  edition  of 
the  Hartz  mountain  ;  men  who  were  not  superla- 
tively intellectual,  but  above  a  doubt  as  to  their 
truthfulness  and  honesty,  and  totally  unconnected 
with  the  miners.  One  had  seen  a  female  face,  as 
described  in  our  first  chapter;  another  had  beheld 
a  tall,  dark  woman  in  white,  leaping  from  rock  to 
rock  where,  seemingly,  no  human  being  could  have 
attained  ;  still  another  had  encountered  a  white 
horse  without  a  head,  mounted  by  a  spectre  rider, 
with  flaming  eyes  and  breath  of  fire  and  smoke, 
ascending  or  descending  the  pass,  and  even  some- 
times the  phantom  steed  and  rider  had  been  seen 
out  upon  the  level  road  ;  and  vet  another  had  wit- 
nessed weird  lights  dancing  in  fantastic  evolutions 
in  different  parts  of  the  pass,  the  gorge  and  on  the 
tops  of  the  precipices,  all  told  with  such  evidences 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  sincerity  and  honesty,  that  many  who  had  been 
the  most  sceptical  at  first,  were  soon  made  firm  be- 
lievers in  the  fact  that  the  mountain  was  haunted 
by  spirits  of  another  world,  let  loose  for  a  season, 
to  torment,  with  their  awful  presence,  the  dwellers 
of  this. 

So  wide  spread  had  become  the  reports  of  these 
remarkable  sights,  that  several  adventurous  persons 
had  visited  the  spot,  from  a  distance,  with  the  av- 
owed purpose  of  exposing  the  imposition,  if  any 
existed,  which  they  were  inclined  to  believe.  On 
visiting  the  scenes  of  the  supernatural  appearances 
by  daylight  nothing  out  of  the  common  course  had 
transpired.  Pruvter  and  his  gang  were  found  at 
work  in  driving  other  tunnels  or  in  sinking  other 
shafts,  and  heaping  the  debris  of  their  labors  in 
piles  for  transportation  ;  and  a  conversation  with 
them  revealed  all  the  fadlsas  above  recorded,  with- 
out, however,  any  explanation  or  attempt  at  expla- 
nation of  the  mysteries.  A  single  nightly  call  on 
the  ghosts  was  usually  all  that  was  required  to  sat- 
isfy the  explorers;  for  on  their  return,  the  reticent 
made  their  ways  toward  their  homes  with  nothing 
to  say ;  and  the  more  talkative  merely  made  assur- 
ance doubly  sure,  by  a  verification,  in  all  particu- 
lars, of  former  rumors. 

About  this  time,  when  the  ghost  stories  were  in 
full  vogue  and  much  talked  of,  on  account  of  their 
novelty,  and  at  about  the  time  the  settlement  of 
the  estate  of  Arthur  Leonard  was  to  be  closed,  an- 
other subject  of  talk  occurred,  though  not  so  wide 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  57 


spread  as  the  other,  and  by  the  same  act  changing 
the  subject  of  conversation  and  settling  the  contro- 
versy in  regard  to  the  money.  This  was  the  whol- 
ly unlocked  for  and  totally  unexpected  marriage  of 
the  widow  Arthur  Leonard  with  the  Welch  miner 
William  Pruyter.  Had  any  whisper  of  an  intent- 
ion tending  to  that  end  been  heard,  previous  to  its 
occurrence,  not  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  vicin- 
ity could  have  been  found  to  give  it  a  moment's  cre- 
dence. The  parties  were  so  completely  unfitted  for 
each  other,  in  every  particular,  and  so  eminently 
so,  that  even  the  least  observing  of  the  neighbors, 
would  have  pronounced  the  union  as  unnatural, 
improbable,  yes,  impossible.  But  like  all  nine- 
day's  wonders,  when  that  time  of  wonder  is  past, 
the  gossipping  ceased  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pruyter 
pursued  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  and  the  farm 
resumed  the  former  look  of  thrift ;  the  fences  were 
mended,  the  gates  repaired  and  the  cattle  again 
became  fat  and  sleek  as  of  yore,  and  the  wife  ap- 
peared to  be  happy. 

It  may  not  be  amiss,  at  thistimeand  in  this  con- 
nection, to  record  the  fact  that  in  the  year  of  1830, 
or  about  two  years  after  the  marriage  of  the  Welch 
miner  and  the  widow,  that  there  began  to  appear 
in  Steadville  and  in  manv  of  the  larger  towns  of 
Lower  Canada,  and  the  bordering  towns  and  villa- 
ges of  the  United  States,  large  quantities  of  coun- 
terfeit coin,  consisting  of  what  represented  them- 
selves to  be  American  half  and  quarter  of  a  dollar 
pieces,  and  eighths,  or  what  were  then  known  as 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

York-shillings,  purporting  to  be  of  Spanish  coin- 
age. These  spurious  pieces  were  well  calculated 
to  deceive,  being  of  true  stamp,  of  accurate  color 
and  size  ;  and  not  susceptible  of  detection  by  one 
in  ten  by  the  ring.  By  some  chemical" means  they 
were  deprived  of  that  greasy  feeling  peculiar  to 
false  coin  ;  and  seemed  only  different  from  the  gen- 
uine in  one  quality,  that  of  weight.  So  good  an 
imitation  were  they  that  they  had  been  in  circula- 
tion some  weeks  before  the  fad  became  fully  estab- 
lished that  an  amount  worthy  of  notice  was  abroad. 
When  known  and  spoken  of  as  of  importance,  the 
merchant,  the  shop-keeper  and,  in  fact,  all  who 
were  doing  business  of  a  general  character,  soon 
discovered  the  melancholy  fad  that  more  than  one 
half  of  the  pieces  of  the  named  denominations  in 
their  tills  and  purses  were  spurious. 

Soon  came  newspaper  reports  of  the  discovery 
of  the  same  trouble  with  the  circulating  medium, 
in  each  their  own  vicinity;  and  then  the  Banknote 
Reporters  took  up  the  hue-and-cry  and  informed 
the  people  how  they  might  detect  the  imposition.. 
There  also  came  reports  of  the  trials  of  several  un- 
fortunate individuals  who  had  been  arrested  for 
uttering  false  coin ;  in  every  case,  however,  the 
respondent  being  cleared  by  a  verdict  of  acquittal, 
not  a  sufficient  amount  of  proof  being  presented 
to  warrant  a  conviction,  however  much  an  example 
was  demanded  by  an  overreached  and  defrauded 
public.  Some  of  our  oldest  readers  may  recollect 
the  affair  and  the  amount  of  feeling  on  the  subject 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  59 

manifested  at  that  time,  and  the  almost  panic  with 
which  the  discovery  was  made.  It  was  estimated 
at  the  time  by  those  who  pretended  to  have  some 
basis  on  which  to  found  their  calculations,  that  no 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
or,  at  least,  what  represented  that  amount,  had  so 
quietly,  systematically  and  simultaneously,  been 
put  in  circulation,  that  not  a  single  conviction  was 
made  of  any  person  having  to  do  with  it,  whether 
as  manufacturer,  agent  or  utterer ;  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  and  successful  frauds  ever  perpetrated 
in  any  age  ;  notwithstanding  we  brag,  to-day,  that 
no  time  ever  equalled  the  present  for  enterprises 
of  that  nature. 

In  their  subsequent  movements  the  perpetrators 
of  this  fraud  seemed  to  conduct  themselves  -with 
the  deep  foresight  and  accumen  that  had  marked 
their  course  throughout ;  for  the  police  and  detec- 
tives of  an  hundred  cities  and  towns,  being  awak- 
ened to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  and  a  generous  rival- 
ry in  the  pursuit  of  the  criminals,  instantly  institu- 
ted ;  and  no  stone  was  left  unturned  in  the  energy 
of  their  chase ;  but  they  failed  utterly,  for  the  sup- 
ply ceased  as  suddenly  as  it  commenced,  and  not 
a  single  new  piece  made  its  appearance,  nor  was 
any  to  be  found  in  circulation  ;  and  the  universal 
fear  of  being  suspected  as  a  possessor  or  passer  of 
counterfeit  money  was  so  general,  that  any  and  all 
who  had  been  imposed  upon,  and  had  pieces  of  the 
kind  on  hand,  immediately  destroyed  them  ;  and 
thus  the  celebrated  irruption  of  counterfeit  coin  in 


60  T1IE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

1830-1,  like  the  cyclone,  destructive  while  it  lasted, 
determined  as  quickly  as  it  began. 

During  all  this  excitement,  but  the  farthest  and 
smallest  waves  of  which  reached  the  immediate 
locality,  the  dwellers  in  and  around  Copper  moun- 
tain, as  we  shall  call  it,  continued  their  undeviating 
course,  save  that,  some  two  years  afterward,  young 
Samuel  Pruyter,  introduced  to  the  reader,  awhile 
since,  now  a  man  of  twenty,  left  his  father  and  his 
dirty  duty  of  mining  for  copper  and  made  his  way 
to  the  cities  on  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  in  search 
of  his  fortune,  as  many  a  man,  young  and  old  has 
done  before  and  since. 

Something  like  eighteen  months  after  the  depar- 
ture of  young  Pruyter,  Helen  Leonard,  a  girl  now 
grown  to  be  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  one  of  those 
bewitching  little  fairies  who,  even  at  that  early  age 
are  apt  to  set  the  hearts  of  older  specimens  of  the 
other  sex  to  palpitating  at  the  sight  of  her,  was  sent 
to  Montreal  to  finish  an  education  in  no  way  defic- 
ient for  one  of  her  situation  as  regards  privilege 
and  age,  and  receive  such  polish  and  accomplish- 
ments as  are,  or  were  accorded  to  wealthy  and  in- 
telligent pupils  in  that  city.  She  remained  at  her 
school  about  three  years,  during  which  time  she 
advanced  in  her  studies  and  beauty  in  about  equal 
proportions.  Her  form  was  rounded  into  the  per- 
fection of  womanhood  ;  her  eyes  polished  with  in- 
tellect, and  her  face,  not  only  showed  the  blank 
regularity  of  feature  and  complexion  of  extreme 
comeliness  in  repose,  but , the  vivacious  spirit  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  6 1 

intelligence  and  true  womanliness  in  action.  In 
fact,  hers  was  a  face  and  form  that  would,  and  did, 
draw  attention  upon  all  occasions,  and  a  second, 
and  a  longer  and  more  admiring  gaze  after  the  first 
was  withdrawn. 

Being  upon  the  street  one  day  of  the  third  year 
of  her  residence  in  the  city,  in  crossing  she  was 
placed  in  a  perilous  position  by  two  swiftly  driven 
carriages,  and  though  naturally  of  a  cool,  fearless 
disposition  and  having  a  will  of  her  owh,  did  she 
see  fit  to  exercise  it,  the  suddenness  of  the  danger 
and  the  almost  certainty  of  her  being  injured  seri- 
ously, unless  speedily  assisted,  seemed  to  paralyze 
her  energies,  and  she  merely  threw  np  her  hands, 
in  a  state  of  utter  helplessness,  waiting  her  doom. 
A  female  so  young  and  so  beautiful,  in  such  immi- 
nent peril,  rarely  in  everyday  life,  and  never  in 
novels,  needs  some  daring  young  knight-errant  to 
rescue  her,  nor  did  Helen  Leonard  at  that  time.  A 
finely  dressed  and  handsome,  black  eyed  and  black 
haired  young  man  came  upon  the  scene,  at  just  the 
right  time,  and  at  considerable  risk  to  himself  res- 
cued her  in  a  fainting  condition.  He  bore  her  to 
IILT  boarding  place,  near  at  hand,  that  was  pointed 
out  by  an  acquaintance  of  the  lady  ;  called  on  the 
next  day  to  see  if  she  suffered  any  inconvenience 
from  her  adventure  ;  the  next  to  ascertain  if  she  was 
sure,  and  still  the  next  to  inquire  if  there  was  no 
mistake  about  it,  and  yet  again  on  the  next  to  ask 
whether  she  was,  after  all  any  the  worse,  mentally 
or  physically,  for  the  incident. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Here  were  certainly  the  opening  scenes  of  a  ro- 
mance in  real  life,  with  all  the  concomitants  of  a 
beautiful  young  girl  and  and  a  handsome,  wealthy 
and  enterprising  young  man;  with  a  romantic  in- 
troduction, unoccupied  hearts,  time  and  opportu- 
nity, and  without  cruel  parents  or  avaricious  guar- 
dians to  interfere,  and  the  young  man  seemed  to  be 
determined  to  make  the  most  of  it;  and  for  the 
ensuing  fortnight  the  course  of  true  but  undeclared 
love  seemed  to  have  a  most  serene  and  uninterrup- 
ted flow,  apothegm  to  the  contrary  notwithstand- 
ing. He  made  her  several  rare  and  valuable  pres- 
ents and  she  embroidered  the  edges  of  a  cambric 
handkerchief  for  him  ;  when  the  fond  dalliance 
was  abruptly  ended  by  the  summous  of  Helen,  to 
the  bedside  of  her  dying  mother  at  Copper  moun- 
tain. She  answered  the  call  in  haste,  without  a 
farewell  to  her  rescuer,  or  any  intimation  of  where 
she  had  gone  ;  had  a  long  and  earnest  conversation 
with  her  only  surviving  parent,  closed  her  eyes  to 
her  last  sleep,  and  followed  her  to  the  gate  of  earth 
with  its  closing  of  sods,  that  opens  the  way  to  the 
world  in  the  Beyond. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  63 


CHAPTER    IV. 
WOMAN'S  CURIOSITY. 

AMUEL    PRUYTER  had  returned  from 
i_     his  seeking  of  his  fortune,    some   months 


previous  to  his  step-mother's  death,  ac- 
•companied  bv  a  stranger.  This  personage 
was  some  forty  years  of  age,  tall,  slightly  stooping 
in  his  carriage  and  was,  evidently  conversant  with 
good  society,  as  witnessed  by  his  rich,  but  appro- 
priate dress,  his  air  of  polite  ease  and  gentility  of 
demeanor  and  his  general  appearance.  He  staid 
only  one  night  at  the  farm  house,  when  he  joined 
the  laborers  at  the  mountain  and  had  since  rarely 
been  seen  by  the  neighbors.  His  time  was  mostly 
spent  in  a  small  private  room  of  the  stone  house, 
engaged,  as  was  given  out  by  the  elder  Pruyter  and 
his  son,  in  experiment,  and  some  chemical  assay- 
ing and  analysis  of  metals,  lately  discovered,  that 
he  had  reason  to  believe  were  more  valuable  than 
copper,  and  showed  traces  of  gold. 

Young  Pruyter  had  improved  much  in  appear- 
ance and  manner  during  his  four  years  of  absence, 
being  well  dressed  and  naturally,  as  some  judged, 
rather  well  looking  than  otherwise  ;  the  harsher 
features  of  his  father  mellowed  by  youth  and  pol- 
ish and  a  countenance  that,  in  repose,  might  pos- 
sess many  of  its  inherited  "characteristics  of  mo- 
roseness,  was  relieved  by  an  appearance  of  candor 
and  vivacity  when  under  his  control,  that  could  not 
fail  to  deceive  the  less  expert  physiognomist.  But 


64  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

smirk  and  smile  however  much  as  he  would,  it  did 
not  obliterate  or  scarcely  diminish  the  inveterate 
antipathv  of  Helen  Leonard  toward  him.  The 
feeling  had  been  shared  between  father  and  son, 
from  her  earliest  years  and  the  closer  connection 
of  the  ill-sorted  marriage  had  failed  to  decrease  its 
force.  This  antagonism  had  been  fully  returned, 
at  heart,'  bv  the  step-father,  though  he  had  ever 
endeavored  to  hide  its  existence  from  the  watch- 
fulness of  the  mother.  On  the  contrary,  the  son, 
instead  of  evincing  any  repulsion  on  the  part  of  the 
maiden,  had  manifested  a  strong  degree  of  attrac- 
tion, that  had  shown  itself  in  many  efforts  to  in- 
gratiate himself  into  her  good  graces  and,  in  his 
uncouth  way,  before  her  absence,  to  convince  her 
of  his  friendship,  at  least. 

A  cool,  but  polite  rejection  of  all  attempts  at  at- 
tention or  familiarity  on  the  part  of  the  young  man 
by  the  girl,  had  kept  him  at  a  proper  distance,  at 
that  time ;  but  it  required  but  little  penetration  to 
perceive  that  her  unappreciated  gallant,  since  his 
return,  was  destined  to  be  not  so  easily  avoided  as 
was  the  less  assured  boy.  An  additional  incentive 
to  repel  his  pretentions  now  actuated  the  girl  since 
her  romantic  meeting  with  Herbert  Lorimer,  and 
she  conducted  herself  accordingly  ;  but  the  impet- 
uous Samuel  seemed  to  be  one  of  that  kind  that 
could  not  take  a  hint*  unless  accompanied  by  that 
pedal  demonstration  sometimes  required  and,  not- 
withstanding her  manifest  intention  to  cut  his  ac- 
quaintance, as  far  as  members  of  the  same  family 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  65 

circle  may  do,  continued  to  force  himself  upon  her 
presence  and  attention. 

Matters  were  in  this  condition  when,  about  ten 
days  after  her  mother's  death,  Helen  determined 
upon  making  a  visit  to  her  cousin,  Anable  Leon- 
ard, a  daughter  of  Carlos,  who  resided,  as  before 
mentioned,  on  the  farm  next  northward,  on  the  lake 
shore.  Having  in  former  years,  without  regard  to 
ghosts  or  spirits,  in  her  frequent  visits  to  the  same 
place,  taken  the  shorter  route  through  the  mount- 
ain, the  brave  girl  saw  no  reason  why  she  should 
not  pursue  the  same  course  at  present,  and  accord- 
ingly, with  heart  regardless  of  fear,  she  bent  her 
footsteps  along  the  well  trodden  and  well  remem- 
bered path  by  the  copper  mines. 

As  she  reached  the  highest  point  of  the  ravine, 
and  was  just  passing  the  stone  house,  she  was  join- 
ed by  Samuel  Pruyter,  who  from  his  appearance, 
had  been  awaiting  her  coming. 

"Good  afternoon,  Miss  Helen,"  he  said,  with  a 
bow  and  smile,  as  he  put  himself  at  her  side.  "1 
am  somewhat  surprised  to  see  you  threading  the 
mazes  of  the  haunted  gorge  unattended.  Are  you 
not  afraid  you  will -meet  some  of  the  phantoms  of 
the  place  ?" 

"I  have  never  heard  that  any  of  the  supernatu- 
ral inhabitants  of  this  glen  were  inclined  to  injure 
anyone,"  she  replied  with  great  coolness;  "only 
deigning  to  cut  some  fantastic  capers  in  sight,  and 
then  only  when  darkness  shrouds  their  movements  ; 
nor  do  I  hear  that  any  who  are  everyday  dwellers 


66  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  their  domains  are  disturbed  by  them ;  then  why 
should  I,  who  only  visit  the  scenes  of  their  gam- 
bols by  daylight,  and  am  not  likely  to  hinder  them 
in  their  usual  occupations,  fear  animosity  to  me?" 

"And  yet,"  replied  the  young  man,  casting  a 
quick  glance  at  her  face,  as  if  to  read  there  whether 
she  meant  more  than  she  said.  "I  think  that  even 
a  sight  of  such  unwelcome  appearances  must  be 
painful  to  the  feelings  of  a  lady,  whether  she  feels 
any  fear  from  their  efforts  or  otherwise." 

"I  have  witnessed  many  a  more  startling  vision 
than  these  are  represented  to  be,  by  those  most  in- 
terested to  make  them  horrible,  in  the  stage  tricks 
of  a  theatre  in  Montreal,"  replied  Helen,  and  she 
could  not  avoid  a  curl  of  the  lip  as  she  said  it,  that 
the  other  was  not  slow  to  notice.  "They  were 
counterfeit  apparitions  and  you  know  best  whether 
these  are  more  trustworthy,  or  whether  their  fan- 
tastic feats  cover  anvthing  that  is  not  genuine." 

"I  am  at  a  loss  to  understand  your  full  meaning, 
Miss  Leonard,"  said  Pruyter  after  a  moment,  dur- 
ing which  a  flush  of  anger,  apprehension  and  con- 
scious guilt  flashed  over  his  face  and  then  left  it 
paler  than  usual,  which,  from  the  facl  of  the  girl's 
eyes  being  bent  upon  the  ground,  he  was  confident 
she  had  not  seen.  "I  certainly  did  not  mention 
the  matter  only  as  a  subject  of  ridicule  and  unwor- 
thy of  a  serious  thought,  but  as  a  preface  to  a  sug- 
gestion that  should  you  return  after  night-fall,  that 
other  and  more  serious  reasons  than  the  dread  of 
seeing  supernatural  sights  or  witnessing  the  freaks 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  67 

of  goblins,  should  induce  you  to  selecl:  the  safer 
route  around  the  mountain  instead  of  this." 

"And  what  danger  dare  you  threaten  me  with  ?" 
demanded  the  young  lady,  proudly  looking  him  in 
the  face ;  "if  I  see  fit  to  set  my  foot,  at  any  time, 
on  any  spot  of  my  dead  father's  land  that  I  may 
choose,  whether  it  be  mountain  or  valley,  rock  or 
greensward.  I  shall  hardly  fear  those,  whatever 
iniquity  they  may  wish  ,to  hide  by  it,  whose  great- 
est efforts  at  intimidation  have  culminated  in  the 
puerile  bugbears  of  hobgoblins  and  spooks,  that 
well  may  frighten  children  and  fools  ;  but  vastly 
too  ridiculous  and  absurd  to  be  mentioned,  even, 
to  those  who  have  arrived  at  the  age  that  presup- 
poses them  possessed  of  that  not  uncommon  com- 
modity, common  sense." 

"The  question  of  proprietorship,  I  apprehend, 
was  long  since  settled,  as  far  as  this  mountain  and 
mines  are  concerned,"  replied  Pruyter  with  con- 
strained passion;  "as  you  are  no  doubt  aware." 

"Yes,  indeed  !"  exclaimed  the  exasperated  girl ; 
"and  how  obtained?  A  name  until  associated  with 
that  of  your  father,  spotless  and  unblemished,  must 
aye,  be  saved,  to  be  carried  down  to  a  grave,  un- 
tarnished by  the  contamination  of  unfair  dealing, 
and "  she  hesitated. 

"The  word  were  better  left  unspoken,"  he  said, 
making  no  farther  effort  to  control  his  anger;  "but 
heed  my  words.  A  journey  around  the  mountain 
is  much  the  safer  and  more  comfortable  to  all  than 
the  one  across,  especially  after  dark." 


68  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"And  you  threaten  again." 

"I  do  not  threaten,"  replied  Pruyter ;  "butthere 
are  worse  dangers  to  an  unprotected  female  than 
the  sight  of  disembodied  spirits, " 

"Samuel  Pruyter,"  said  Helen,  her  eyes  flashing 
and  her  lip  trembling  with  rage ;  "my  course  is 
northward,  and  if  yours  is  the  same,  I  will  patient- 
ly wait  until  you  have  accomplished  so  much  of  it 
as  shall  relieve  me  of  your  presence,"  and  she  qui- 
etly awaited  his  movements. 

For  a  moment  he  paused  and  showed  indications 
of  continuing  the  conversation  ;  but  determining 
otherwise,  he,  with  a  muttered  curse,  turned  on  his 
heel,  and  made  his  way  up  the  gorge,  muttering, 
as  he  went,  when  beyond  her  hearing : — 

"D n.  but  this  she-devil  knows  too  much. 

Who  dreamed  that  she  was  such  a  spitfire.  I  gave 
her  no  cause  of  offence,  and  yet  she  treats  me  like 
a  dog ;  and  gets  up  a  tremendous  show  of  anger 
for  no  other  purpose,  as  I  believe,  but  to  get  rid  of 
me.  But  what  does  she  know  about  the  deed  and 
receipt,  anything  more  than  what  she  guesses  at? 
She  must  be  watched,  and  if  she  comes  back  this 
way — but  she  will  not  dare  ;  she  puts  on  a  great 
show  of  courage,  but  come  to  the  case  in  hand, 
she  will  avoid  the  pass,  as  many  do  whom  I  have 
heard  making  louder  protestations  of  bravery  than 
she  does.  I  must  have  a  talk  with  the  old  man, 
and  if  there  is  danger  in  her  blabbing,  some  means 
must  be  taken  to  silence  her.  As  my  wife  she'd 
keep  mum.  Yes,  that  must  be  the  way." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Still  continuing  his  meditations,  but  no  longer 
to  utter  his  thoughts  aloud,  the  young  man  gained 
the  stone  house  and,  in  a  few  moments,  was  clos- 
eted with  his  progenitor  ;  the  results  of  whose  con- 
sultations must  be  left  for  further  development,  as 
this  chapter  and  the  preceding  one  are  merely  sy- 
noptical records  of  events  transpiring  before  the 
real  story  commences,  and  only  intended  to  bring 
certain  portions  of  the  characters  up  to  the  date  of 
the  opening  of  the  same. 

Now  be  it  known  that  Helen  Leonard  was  nei- 
ther she-devil  or  spitfire,  as  the  incensed  Samuel 
had  rather  profanely  called  her;  nor  indeed,  was 
she  the  termagant  that  the  reader  might  judge  her 
from  her  manner  of  disposing  of  that  intrusive  in- 
dividual, as  a  mischievous  smile  on  her  lovely  and 
good  natured  countenance  would  seem  to  indicate, 
when  he  left  her  ;  but  she  had  learned  many  things 
of  late,  no't  only  from  her  mother,  in  her  last  sick- 
ness, and  whispers  from  neighbors,  but  from  her 
own  observation  which  was,  by  no  means,  deficient 
in  acuteness.  It  is  true  she  resented  the  young  fel- 
low's unwarranted  intrusion  upon  her  privacy  and, 
for  certain  reasons  of  her  own,  at  a  later  period  to 
be  revealed,  wished,  on  this  particular  occasion  to 
be  alone,  which  may  account,  in  some  degree,  for 
the  brusqueness  of  her  manner  to  him. 

For  reasons  above  given  the  visit,  as  a  visit,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  our  stoi'y  ;  and  being  concluded 
near  sundown,  Helen  started  out  on  her  return. 
There  is  enough  stubbornness  in  female  humanity 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

in  general,  and  of  impatience  of  constraint  in  par- 
ticular on  this  occasion  to  explain  the  reason  why 
the  maiden  selected  the  same  route  for  her  return 
that  she  had  adopted  in  coming,  notwithstanding 
young  Pruyter's  warning  and  implied  threats,  was 
there  no  other  motive  prompting  her  to  her  course. 
Be  the  inducement  what  it  was  she  entered  the  ra- 
vine just  at  dark  and  not  without  some  fluttering 
of  the  heart,  it  is  true,  made  her  way  up  its  dark- 
some course.  The  frowning  and,  in  some  cases, 
overhanging  precipices  on  either  hand  shutout  the 
last  remains  of  daylight  yet  lingering  in  the  west ; 
the  little  brook  babbling  at  the  side  of  her  path, 
and  the  murmur  of  the  swaying  branches,  swing- 
ing back  and  forth  in  the  brisk  breeze  that  sprung 
up  as  the  sun  went  down,  mingled  with  the  lone- 
some hoot  of  some  solitary  owl,  seemed  to  produce 
a  sort  of  weird  music,  far  from  agreeable  ;  while 
the  dim  outlines  of  some  scathed  tree'  or  storm- 
bleached  crag,  just  seen  in  the  gathering  gloom, 
added  but  little  to  her  self-assurance,  especially  as 
we  consider  the  questionable  reputation  of  the  lo- 
cality. That  the  mountain  was  the  abode  of  any 
beings  other  than  those  of  flesh  and  blood,  she  did 
not,  for  a  single  moment,  believe  ;  but  the  sight  of 
any  uncommon  or  unnatural  appearance,  even  if 
fully. known  to  be  the  work  of  man  and  harmless, 
in  that  solitary  and  awesome  spot,  must  produce 
uneasiness  if  not  fright. 

Had  the  same  emotions  that  filled   the  breast  of 
Helen   Leonard,  been  as  acute  before  she  entered 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  7 1 

the  pass,  there  is  no  question  but  what  she  would 
have  abandoned  her  undertaking,  but  since  she  had 
made  the  effort,  she  was  too  proud  to  turn  back  ; 
but  being  as  it  was,  with  more  trepidation  than  she 
bargained  for,  she  pursued  her  course  until,  after 
some  fifteen  minutes,  she  neared  the  site  of  the 
stone  house.  The  building  was  shrouded  in  dark- 
ness and  the  comfort  that  a  light  shining  from  its 
windows  would  have  given  was  denied  her ;  and, 
with  a  pulse  somewhat  accelerated  by  the  circum- 
stance and  surprised  at  the  fact,  well  aware,  as  she 
was,  that  here  the  miners  partook  of  their  meals 
and  lodged  at  all  times,  and  her  father-in-law  and 
his  son  also,  three-fourths  of  their  time,  she  pre- 
pared to  hasten  homeward. 

As  she  made  this  determination,  she  was  arrest- 
ed by  a  low  humming  sound  proceeding  from  the 
building,  and  turning  to  discover  its  cause,  she  was 
gratified  by  seeing  a  sharp  pencil  of  light,  a  single 
ray,  shooting  from  one  of  the  narrow  windows, 
across  her  eyesight.  A  closer  inspection  revealed 
the  fact  that  all  the  windows  of  the  building  were 
closed  by  shutters  upon  the  inside,  and  that  the  sol- 
tary  ray  of  light  was  the  result  of  some  imperfec- 
tion in  the  blind.  At  the  same  time  this  discove- 
ry was  made  by  the  maiden,  she  also  perceived 
that  which  had  before  escaped  her  notice,  an  oc- 
casional spark  rising  from  the  chimney,  and  a  per- 
ceptible odor  of  burning  leather.  That  all  of  these 
matters  were  wholly  unexpected  by  Helen  Leonard 
it  would  be  useless  to  claim  ;  and  the  same  resolve 


72  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

that  had  prompted  her  to  her  task  so  far,  induced 
her  to  make  a  closer  examination  of  the  premises. 
With  this  in  view  she  made  a  cautious  advance  to- 
ward the  building,  keeping  the  ray  of  light  ever  in 
view  until,  after  some  time,  she  reached  her  desti- 
nation and,  horrible  to  relate,  applied  her  eye  to 
the  aperture. 

If  a  fear  of  consequences  had  made  her  heart 
flutter  with  more  than  its  usual  violence,  the  sight 
now  presented  amply  repaid  all  the  inconvenience. 
In  one  corner  of  the  room,  and  working  by  a  bril- 
liant, concentrated  light,  sat  the  new-comer,  en- 
gaged in  engraving;  at  one  end,  before  a  furnace, 
a  man  was  case-hardening  a  steel  plate ;  near  the 
furnace  a  man  was  busy  in  casting  small  discs  of  a 
material  resembling  gold  ;  another,  by  the  aid  of  an 
immensely  powerful  press,  was  stamping  them  into 
the  semblance  of  coin  ;  Samuel  Pruyter  was  exer- 
cising the  craft  his  absence  of  four  years  had  been 
devoted  to  learning,  that  of  printing  bank  bills,  or 
rather,  counterfeits  of  them,  and  his  father  busily 
signing  them,  he  being,  as  it  proved,  the  most  ex- 
pert penman  in  the  provinces  up  to  that  day.  To 
sum  the  whole  of  the  strange  sight,  as  beheld  by 
the  startled  but  not  surprised  maiden,  in  few  words, 
she  was  overlooking  the  most  complete,  well-or- 
ganized and  successful  gang  of  counterfeiters,  up 
to  the  date  ever  known,  even  then  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  those  half-eagles,  that  for  many 
years  thereafter  were  not  all  discovered  and  put  out 
of  circulation,  and  the  notes  of  a  bank  in  the  state 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  73 

of  Massachusetts,  that  was  compelled  to  close  its 
doors  on  account  of  the  niceness  of  the  imitation, 
and  the  amount  put  in  issue. 

From  what  has  already  been  said,  the  reader  is, 
without  doubt,  aware  that  some  developments  of 
this  character  would  reward  the  espionage  of  the 
maiden  and  that  she  was,  in  a  measure,  prepared 
for  such  a  sight ;  but  there  was  a  sort  of  fascination 
in  the  view,  nevertheless,  that  kept  her  attention  so 
close  that  she  failed  to  notice  the  entrance  of  a  new 
comer,  a  hurried  whisper  between  him  and  Samuel 
Pruyter,  nor  the  quick  passing,  of  that  individual, 
out  at  the  door.  It  was  with  a  good  deal  of  sur- 
prise then,  that  she  felt  the  weight  of  a  h'eavy  hand 
upon  her  shoulder,  and  heard  whispered,  close  to 
her  ear,  in  tones  of  suppressed  anger,  the  words  : — 

"It  seems  then,  Miss  Helen  Leonard,  that  very 
sensible  advice  even  if  it  did  come  from  so  unwor- 
thy a  source  as  myself,  was  not  taken,  and  that  you 
are  now  in  possession  of  a  secret  none  other  than 
yourself  could  have  discovered,  without  danger  to 
his  life." 

"I  was  well  aware,"  replied  the  spirited  girl, 
who,  when  the  first  sensation  of  fright  was  passed, 
was  as  cool  as  ever;  "that  my  surmises  were  not 
wholly  without  foundation  ;  and  if  my  life,  which 
you  vaguely  threaten,  was  the  recompense,  I  would 
have  taken  the  means  I  have  to  satisfy  my  own 
mind  of  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  my  suspicions." 

"And  dared  you  thus  beard  men,  who  from  the 
very  nature  of  their  occupation  and  the  consequence 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^«s-^^^> ««^^-^>^>-*^^-.-*^^-' 

that  must  result  from  an  exposure,  must  be  despe- 
rak-.  employ  any  means  to  prevent  a  knowledge  of 
their  business  transpiring,  and  alone?" 

•'The  very  fad  of  my  being  alone  in  the  under- 
taking was  my  surety  of  safetv,  although  I  counted 
that  but  nothing  when  compared  with  the  gratitude 
a  public  must  feel  to  the  person  who  has  it  in  his 
or  her  power  to  expose  a  fraud  so  gigantic,  and  so 
fraught  with  injury  to  the  well  being  of  society  at 
large." 

"Do  I  understand  you,  then,"  asked  the  young 
man  ;  "that  it  is  your  intention  to  publish  your  un- 
warrantable discovery  to  the  world?  If  such  is 
vour  purp'ose,  you  may  well  consider,  before  you 
attempt  it,  that  the  liberty  and,  mayhap,  the  lives 
of  eight  individuals,  each  of  whom  values  those 
boons  as  highlv  as  the  rest  of  Immunity,  is  imper- 
illed by  that  course  and  that  they  will  preserve,  at 
all  costs,  what  is  so  dear  to  them." 

'•Such  is  certainly  my  intention,"  replied  Helen 
with  a  semblance  of  firmness  that  she  was  far  from 
feeling,  for  the  full  danger  of  her  situation  did  not 
before  occur  to  her,  until  now,  and  its  force  was 
the  more  overwhelming  on  that  account;  "but  I 
am  willing  to  compromise  the  matter  by  giving  a 
sufficient  time  for  you  to  escape  before  I  make  the 
exposure  public." 

It  must  be  evident  to  all  reflective  minds  that  the 
counterfeiters  were  men  who,  in  all  probability, 
were  not  easily  moved  by  any  feelings  of  compas- 
sion toward  a  spy,  even  were  it  a  defenceless  girl, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


and  she  most  beautiful  and  most  innocent,  who 
had  discovered  their  secret  which,  if  exposed,  must 
be  the  end  of  a  very  profitable  business,  as  well  as 
pregnant  with  danger  to  themselves  as  individuals  ; 
nor  that  thev  were  inclined  to  remove  the  scene  of 
their  operations  to  a  remote  district,  attended,  as 
such  migration  must  be,  with  loss  of  time  as  well 
as  expense.  This  Samuel  Pruyter  well  knew  and 
appreciated ;  and  while  he  would  fain  shield  the 
maiden  from  what  must  be  the  probable  penalty  of 
her  knowledge,  for  the  reason  that  he  reallv  loved 
her  and  would  make  her  his  wife,  his  own  safety, 
and  that  of  his  companions,  must  not  be  imperill- 
ed by  any  remissness  upon  his  part.  He,  at  once, 
saw  that  the  girl  had  placed  herself  in  his  power, 
and  that  his  hopes  were  more  liable  to  be  realized 
than  they  would  be  under  other  circumstances. 
He  rapidly  ran  these  matters  over  in  his  mind  be- 
fore he  replied  and  hastily  settling  upon  a  course, 
as  a  result  of  his  cogitations,  said  : — - 

"Your  proposal  is  certainly  worthy  of  consider- 
ation and  if  you  will  pass  your  word  to  keep  vour 
discoveries  secret  until  the  day  after  to-morrow,  I 
will  then  give  you  our  answer." 

Now  Helen  thought  this  was  getting  out  of  a  bad 
scrape  pretty  easily  and  readily  promised,  and  at- 
tended by  Samuel,  soon  reached  her  home.  On 
the  following  morning,  however,  when  she  made 
an  attempt  to  leave  her  room,  she  was  a  good  deal 
surprised  to  make  the  discovery  that  her  door  was 
fastened  and  that  she  was  a  prisoner.  Some  pretty 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


energetic  movements  on  her  part,  tending  to  more 
noise  than  was  quite  agreeable  to  her  keepers,  soon 
brought  Samuel  and  his  father  to  her  room.  A 
somewhat  stormy  altercation  was  the  result  of  the 
meeting,  but  the  Pruyters  were  firm.  She  might, 
they  told  her,  have  her  choice,  to  marry  the  young 
man  on  the  next  day  or  abide  the  decision  of  the 
gang  who  had  unanimously  voted,  the  night  before 
to  take  her  life  rather  than  they  should  be  liable  to 
certain  destruction  ;  and  in  the  meantime  to  be  re- 
moved to  the  stone  house  for  confinement,  during 
the  twenty-four  hours  they  would  allow  her  for 
consideration.  Thev  also  informed  her  that  in  case 
she  selected  the  former  alternative,  she  must  take 
and  subscribe  to  the  oath  imposed  upon  all  mem- 
bers of  the  band,  and  thev  would  trust  to  that  and 
the  fad  that  she  was  a  wife  of  one  of  them,  for 
surety  of  her  silence.  Helen,  who  was  fast  becom- 
ing aware  of  the  consequences  of  her  folly,  made 
no  reply,  and  was  soon  incarcerated  in  an  upper 
room  of  the  stone  house,  to  which  all  the  furniture 
of  her  own  bed  chamber  had  been  transported  and 
in  which,  save  the  fad  that  she  was  a  prisoner,  she 
found  all  the  comforts  of  her  home. 

We  may  well  surmise  that  her  sleep,  during  the 
intervening  night  was  but  little,  and  that  most  of 
her  time  was  spent  in  meditation,  if  so  gentle  a 
term  may  be  used  to  express  the  intense  thought 
that  occupied  her.  The  result  of  her  mental  wrest- 
lings may  be  summed  up  as  follows  :  firstly  :  that 
sin-  would  not  marrv  Samuel  Pruvter,  nor  take  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  77 

oath  ;  secondly  :  that  she  would  escape  if  possible 
and  thirdly,  that  if  her  hope  of  eluding  "their  vig- 
ilance should  not  meet  with  success,  she  would  a- 
bide  the  fate  that  she  anticipated  would  not  result 
in  death,  for  she  was  satisfied  they  would  never 
to  go  to  that  extremity.  To  carry  out  her  first  pos- 
itive conclusion,  the  negative  being  contingent  on 
the  failure  of  that,  she  made  a  close  examination 
of  the  door,  the  window  and  the  walls  of  her  cell 
but  with  the  success  she  might  have  anticipated, 
from  the  character  of  her  jailors,  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, her  spirits  that  hope  had  hitherto  kept  up, 
began  to  flag  and  by  midnight  she  was  quite  des- 
pondent, when  she  was  aroused  from  the  state  into 
which  she  had  fallen,  by  a  sound  at  her  window. 
Altogether  uncertain  of  the  nature  of  the  disturb- 
ance, but  satisfied  that  if  the  gratings  were  of  suffi- 
cient strength  to  keep  her  in,  they  would  have  as 
much  efficiency  in  keeping  out  any  danger,  she 
watched,  not  without  some  fear,  it  is  true,  what 
other  developments  might  ensue. 

Scarcely  sixty  seconds  had  elapsed  before  the 
heavy  crossed  gratings  of  iron  swung  as  noiselessly 
and  as  easily  aside  as  would  a  common  door,  on 
good  hinges,  and  a  wild  looking,  emaciated  face 
appeared  in  the  aperture.  The  "woman's  face," 
without  surroundings  or  support,  of  which  she  had 
heard  so  much,  but  had  never  before  seen,  was  be- 
fore her  in  all  certainty ;  and  the  captive  girl  was 
on  the  point  of  screaming,  when  she  was  arrested 
in  the  acl:,  by  perceiving  that  the  face  entered  her 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

room,  and  when  within,  the  stronger  light  of  her 
lamp  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  terrible  visage  was 
no  longer  without  surroundings  or  support,  but  at- 
tended, as  faces  usually  are,  by  a  body  and  limbs. 
The  latter,  as  well  as  the  head,  being  covered  by 
a  long,  cloak-like  garment,  to  which  was  attached 
a  hood  that  was  drawn  over  the  head,  made  of  a 
dark  cloth,  not  black,  but  what  might  be  termed  a 
twilight  color;  a  very  dark  gray,  so  near  in  hue  to 
the  shadows  of  night  as  to  blend  with  them  and  be 
invisible  at  a  short  distance  from  tbe  eye. 

It  was  certainly  a  great  relief  to  Helen  to  discov- 
er this  fad,  for  what  there  was  of  supernatural  ap- 
pearance was  removed,  and  what  might  frighten, 
under  its  former  standing,  was  under  its  present 
status,  devoid  of  that  power ;  but  yet,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  singular  guest,  as  a  human  being,  was 
not  entirely  without  elements  of  ability  to  scare,  so 
weird-like  and  singular  were  its  looks  and  motions. 
With  no  farther  introduction  than  an  intimation  in 
a  voice  scarcely  understandable  from  its  foreign 
intonations,  from  the  wild-looking  woman,  that  she 
had  come  to  release  her,  she  flung  the  cloak  over 
her  shoulders,  leaving  herself  in  a  dress,  that  in  the 
darkness  might  be  mistaken  for  white,  but  in  the 
light  of  the  lamp  revealed  many  a  spot  of  dirt  and 
stain  of  moss,  mingled  with  others  ;  assisted  Helen 
to  and  down  a  ladder,  and  again  closing  and  fast- 
ening the  swinging  grating.  As  the  released  pris- 
oner turned  away,  she  saw  the  strange  woman  re- 
move the  ladder  and  carry  it  up  the  gorge. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  79 

We  scarcely  need  follow  the  flight  of  Helen  on 
her  \vav  to  Steadville,  save  to  say  that,  as  morning 
broke  she  found  herself  about  half-a-mile  from  the 
village  to  which  it  was  her  first  intention  to  make 
her  way  for  an  asvlum  ;  but  what  had  been  her  un- 
faltering spirit  and  courage,  heretofore,  since  the 
events  of  the  last  four-and-twenty  hours,  had  be- 
come very  much  shaken  ;  and  the  question  had  re- 
peatedly come  up  in  her  mind,  whether,  with  so 
much  at  stake,  the  counterfeiters  would  allow  her 
to  remain  there  in  safety.  Unable  to  make  the  de- 
cision and  unwilling  to  dispossess  herself  of  the 
weighty  secret  without  further  thought  upon  the 
matter,  she  turned  off  the  main  road,  crossed  the 
river  on  a  farm  bridge  ;  and  wearied  from  want  of 
sleep  and  long  walk  ;  and  fearful  of  pursuit  and 
capture,  she  entered  an  unoccupied  barn,  where 
she,  while  in  the  acl:  of  making  up  her  mind  as  to 
her  best  course,  fell  asleep ;  nor  did  she  awake  till 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

Still  undecided  as  to  her  proper  course,  but  spur- 
red on  by  an  anxiety  to  put  as  much  distance  as  she 
might  between  herself  and  her  enemies,  she  con- 
tinued her  flight  until  nearly  dark,  when  hearing 
a  team  approaching,  she  partially  hid  herself,  and 
allowed  it  to  pass  ;  but  the  driver,  one  of  that  class 
then  so  plenty,  a  pedler,  seemed  to  discover  her, 
for  he  applied  the  whip  to  his  horse,  quite  energet- 
ically, and  was  soon  a  long  way  past  her.  Con- 
tinuing her  journey,  she  soon  came  to  a  building, 
evidently  a  public  house,  and  desirous  of  rest  and 


So  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

refreshment,  she  looked  in  at  the  windows ;  but- 
being  discovered  by  the  inmates,  she  hastily  turned 
away  and  resolved  to  push  on  a  few  miles  farther, 
had  gained  the  highway,  when  she  was  caught  up 
bv  a  man  who  placed  his  hand  over  her  mouth  and 
mounting  a  powerful  horse  that  stood  near  at  hand, 
started  toward  Steadville.  When  they  repassed 
the  tavern  into  which  she  had  looked,  she  saw,  in 
its  front,  several  persons ;  and  by  a  sudden  effort, 
freeing  her  mouth  from  the  captor's  hand,  uttered 
a  cry  for  help.  With  a  curse,  Samuel  Pruyter,  for 
it  was  he,  replaced  his  hand,  rode  a  half-mile  far- 
ther, when  he  paused  and  binding  a  handkerchief 
over  her  mouth,  seemed  satisfied  that  she  was  eff- 
ectually silenced.  He  had  not  long,  however,  to 
make  himself  sure  before  he  heard  the  fierce  clash 
of  hoofs  upon  the  road,  in  his  rear.  Pruyter  was 
easily  impressed  with  the  certainty  that  it  was  the 
sound  of  pursuit,  and  being  a  disciple  of  Falstaff  s 
theory,  made  haste  to  speed  awav. 

Of  the  chase  that  ensued  and  its  results,  the  rea- 
der has  already  been  informed  in  a  former  chap- 
ter. Before  nine  o'clock  Helen  Leonard  was  once 
more  in  the  upper  chamber  of  the  Stone  House  in 
The  Pass,  where  she  must,  for  the  present,  remain 
as  a  close  prisoner. 

And  now,  at  some  expense  to  the  interest  of  our 
story,  perhaps,  having  got  the  most  of  our  main 
characters  up  to  the  starting  post,  we  will  endea- 
vor to  get  them  off  upon  the  race  we  have  propos- 
ed to  chronicle  in  these  pages. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  8 1 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE    PEDLER    AND    THE    LAWYER. 

(ILLIAM  HOWARD,  the  handsome 
hostler  at  Daniel  Morrison's  way-side 
tavern,  from  the  fact  that  he  is  destin- 
ed to  bear  a  more  prominent  part  in 
the  incidents  of  this  tale  than  his  humble  position 
might  seem  to  warrant,  deserves  a  somewhat  bet- 
ter description  than  the  few  dashes  of  the  pen,  in 
our  first  chapter,  recorded.  As  there  set  down,  he 
was  tall,  well-built,  muscular  and  gifted  with  more 
.than  a  usual  share  of  manly  beauty.  This  latter 
possession  was,  by  no  means,  confined  strictly  to 
great  regularity  of  features,  but  was  aided  in  giv- 
ing comeliness  to  naturally  well  marked  lineaments 
bv  a  certain  look  of  intelligence  and  spirit  that,  in 
a  measure,  gave  the  lie  to  any  assumption  that  his 
intellect  had  found  its  level  in  his  menial  occupa- 
tion. The  word  menial  is  used  out  of  regard  to 
preconceived  notions  of  any  readers,  should  such 
ever  peruse  these  pages,  as  are  residents  of  a  dif- 
ferent locality  than  the  one  occupied  by  the  adven- 
tures of  the  actors  in  this  story. 

In  Vermont,  fifty  years  ago,  and  even  now,  to  a 
more  or  less  degree,  according  to  locality  and  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  imported  fashions,  the 
"help",  as  it  was  called,  of  the  well-to-do  class  of 
husbandmen  and  citizens  engaged  in  other  business 
was  nearly  as  well  considered  as  any  part  of  their 
own  family,  for  two  or  three  reasons.  It  usually 


S2  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

consisted  of  a  better  class  of  young  men  and  girls 
than  falls  to  the  lot  of  householders  in  cities  and 
large  towns,  where  foreign  servants  and  men  of  all 
work  are  employed  and,  in  many  instances,  of  the 
younger  portions  of  their  neighbor's  families  and 
sometimes  relatives,  who  go  out  to  service,  many 
times,  to  earn  that  start  in  life  that  their  own  pa- 
rents who,  as  residents  of  a  new  country,  where 
even  the  proprietor,  himself,  puts  his  hand  to  the 
axe-helve  and  plow,  however  well  off  they  maybe, 
are  unable  to  give.  The  very  consideration  shown 
to  this  class  of  young  men  and  women  by  employ- 
ers, enables  them  to  obtain  a  better  class  of  assist- 
ants than  they  otherwise  might ;  and  the  better 
class  of  assistants  deserve  and  receive  more  con- 
sideration on  that  account.  Eating  at  the  same 
table,  visiting  in  the  same  societv  and  enjovingall 
the  privileges  of  their  emplovers,  in  the  primitive 
state  of  society,  by  employees,  was  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception. 

The  same  appreciation  and  treatment  of  good 
'•help"  with  which  they  were  acquainted,  was  ac- 
corded, from  habit,  to  the  stranger  and  rather  than 
be  compelled  to  assume  the  domineering  tone  and 
air  to,  or  suffer  inconvenience  or  disgust  for  a  less 
worthy  class,  the  employer  would  discharge  any 
who  deserved  such  treatment  and  by  putting  in- 
ducement to  arrogance  beyond  reach,  did  not  fall 
into  the  habit.  The  reasons  above  assigned,  are 
those  that  have  warranted  the  selection  of  a  main 
a&or  in  our  drama  from  so  lowly  a  position. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  83 

William  Howard  was  comparatively  a  stranger 
in  Melas.  Something  less  than  a  month  before  the 
fifteenth  day  of  May,  he  had  alighted  from  the 
stage-coach,  when  it  had  stopped  to  water  the  hor- 
ses, with  no  baggage-but  a  small  hand  valise.  For 
a  week  or  ten  days  he  had  taken  short  excursions 
through  the  surrounding  country,  ostensibly,  in 
search  of  employment.  The  pursuit  seemed  to 
prove  fruitless  for,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  he  had 
candidly  informed  Morrison  that  he  was  out  of  mo- 
ney and  that  his  quest  of  an  opportunity  to  labor 
had  resulted  in  disappointment;  and  as  a  conse- 
quence he  would  be  unable  to  pay  his  bill,  unless 
the  creditor  would  allow  him  to  work  it  out.  As 
this  conversation  happened  at  a  time  when  honest 
Dan's  hostler  had  given  notice  of  his  intention  to 
quit,  he  readily  gave  the  young  stranger  the  place. 
Dan  Morrison  had  noticed  and  liked  the  frank, 
handsome  countenance' of  his  guest;  nor  was  he 
disappointed  in  him  for,  with  a  little  instruction, 
added  to  a  willingness  to  make  himself  generally 
useful,  soon  made  the  young  man  a  very  efficient 
and  trustworthy  equerv- 

As  soon  as  the  Canadian  had  left  the  door  in  his 
pursuit  of  the  mysterious  abductor,  Howard  re- 
paired to  the  barn,  to  appearance,  and  the  jolly 
landlord  to  some  unknown  recess  of  kitchen,  pan- 
try or  cellar  the,  to  the  outward  world,  obscure  and 
secret  haunts  of  culinary  mysticism,  whence  issued 
at  stated  periods,  savory  smells,  soon  after  follow- 
ed Ky  luxurious  sights  and  luscious  tastes  of  the  deft 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

handiwork  of  the  hidden, ministers  of  good  cheer. 
When  the  coast  was  thus  fully  cleared,  the  pedler 
approached  the  only  remaining  inmate  of  the  bar- 
room and  casting  a  searching  glance  at  the  window 
as  if  to  ascertain  whether  he -was  or  was  not  watch- 
ed, said  : — 

••\\liv  in  thunder  didn't  you  meet  me  down  by 
the  bridge,  as  I  requested  you  to-night?  You,  of 
course,  knew  that  it  was  important  that  I  should 
see  you  without  fail." 

"1  made  up  my  mind,"  replied  Roberts;-  "that 
a  conference  would  be  vastly  more  agreeable  under 
cover  ot  shingles,  and  by  the  side  of  a  good  fire, 
than  in  the  damp  of  a  night  dew.  I  found  no  one 
but  the  people  of  the  house,  and  aware  that  you  was 
unknown  to  them,  thought  it  better  to  remain  until 
you  arrived." 

"\  es,  and  run  so  much  more  unnecessary  risk," 
exclaimed  the  pedler,  petulantly,  but  in  a  subdued 
tone.  "You  fellows,  that  are  out  of  the  ring,  and 
ain't  liable  to  discovery  at  any  moment  and,  as  a 
consequence,  run  the  risk  of  looking  through  grates, 
care  but  little  how  much  danger  we  are  exposed 
to,  every  day  of  our  lives." 

"Pshaw!  Heath,"  replied  Roberts.  "You  are 
always  more  scart  than  hurt.  This  very  sneaking 
around  in  bye-places  and  disguising  yourselves,  is 
the  surest  thing  that  will  set  suspicious  persons  to 
inquiring  your  business.  John  Heath  has  a  right- 
to  come  from  Steadville  and  consult  lawyer  Rob- 
erts, without  driving  a  pedler's  cart,  or  making  a 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.    .  85 

very  poor  pretension  to  being  a  yankee,  and  with 
less  risk  of  detection  ;  for  where  there  is  nothing 
hidden,  there  is  nothing  to  be  found  out." 

"Yes,"  replied  Heath;  "but  it  is  fortunate  that 
I  was  disguised,  or  that  sharp-eyed  rebel  Captain 
would  have  recognized  me  at  once,  and  I  should- 
n't have  been  enabled  to  cut  his  circingle  and  thus 
prevent  his  reaching  Steadville,  before  the  attack 
was  made." 

"Is  the  attack  to  be  made  to-night?" 
"At  ten  o'clock  if  the  moon  happens  to  rise  clear 
enough  to  allow  the  dragoons  to  manoeuvre  by  it ; 
and  they've  got  a  dead  open  and  shut  on  the  rascals. 
We  have  got  all  the  signals,  the  passwords,  &c., 
and  know  the  exact  spot.  Captain  Stanfield  did 
want  to  wait  until  the  muskets  arrived  and  use  the 
infantry,  but  was  fearful  that  the  plan  of  the  expe- 
tion  would  leak  out,  and  has  determined  to  use  the 
cavalry.  It's  a  sure  thing,  this  time." 

"All  right,  I  hope  so,"  said  Roberts  "But  what 
did  you  want  of  me?  The  man  only  said  :  'Meet 
Heath  on  the  bridge,  on  important  business,  at 
eight  o'clock,  to-night,'  and  rode  on  without  stop- 
ping to  make  any  explanation  or  further  remark." 
"My  business  is  not  professional  though  connec- 
ted with  my  profession,"  replied  Heath,  casting  an 
uneasy  glance  around  the  untenanted  apartment ; 
"and  of  such  a  nature  that  I  should  prefer  to  im- 
part it  where  we  would  be  less  liable  to  interrupt- 
ion from  chance  comers,  or  accidental  or  interested 
and  premeditated  listeners." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

•'The  objection  is  very  easily  remedied,"  said 
Roberts  rising  and  taking  in  his  hand  a  lamp,  "the 
sitting  room  is  in  another  part  of  the  house  and  is 
unoccupied.  Follow  me  and  I  will  show  you  to  a 
place  where  we  can  be  at  private  as  you  wish." 

Mankind,  and  especially  that  part  of  it  who  are 
engaged  in  a  breach  of  the  laws,  from  a  conscious- 
ness of  guilt,  are  many  times  more  nice  than  wise, 
to  use  a  trite  saying,  in  their  calculations.  Too 
great  a  show  of  an  attempt  at  cunning  and  secrecy, 
is  very  apt  to  draw  upon  the  over  cautious,  suspi- 
cions that  otherwise  would  remain  unstimulated. 
The  dropping  of  a  tone  to  a  whisper,  that  would 
otherwise  be  unheard,  without  that  precaution,  at 
once  indicates  an  evident  wish  not  to  be  heard  and 
prompts  anyone  gifted  with  that  characteristic — 
that  distinguishing  trait  of  yankeedom — an  inquis- 
itive curiosity  to  attempt  an  elucidation  of  an  ad- 
vertised mystery.  So  it  was  with  the  aft  of  Rob- 
erts and  his  friend,  as  he  seemed  to  be  ;  for  scarcely 
had  they  seated  themselves  in  the  room,  than  our 
handsome  friend,  the  hostler,  had  his  eye  first  and 
then  his  ear  afterwards,  applied  to  an  accidental 
aperture  in  the  glass  of  one  of  the  windows. 

Admitted  that  this  is  not  a  very  dignified  and 
romantic  action  on  the  part  of  one  the  writer  has 
raised  from  the  somewhat  lowly  occupation  of  a 
tavern  man  of  all  work  to  the  honored  position  of 
dividing  the  situation  of  hero  in  a  novel ;  but  How- 
ard did  not  like  Roberts  for  the  best  of  all  reasons, 
that  there  was  an  attraction,  under  the  same  roof 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

that  sheltered  him,  which  the  red-headed  lawyer 
wished  to  appropriate  to  himself,  a  proceeding  to 
which  the  young  man  most  decidedly  objected. 
Again,  the  listener  had  discovered  that  the  stranger 
was  acting  a  part;  he  having  easily  penetrated  the 
flimsv  pretext  of  the  pedler's  idiom,  and  the  vehi- 
cle itself  disclosed  the  faift,  that  it  was  only  a  part 
of  the  disguise  by  which  the  owner  hoped  to  whee- 
dle alKspectators  into  the  belief  that  his  business 
was  legitimate.  One  of  the  doors,  in  his  furious 
drive,  had  become  accidentally  unfastened  and  an 
examination  had  revealed  the  circumstance  that  the 
commodities  of  trade  carried  bv  the  pretended  itin- 
erant, were  composed  of  several  flat  stones,  a  few 
bricks  and  a  block  or  two  of  wood  ;  articles  that, 
in  that  country,  would  natutallv  rind  a  poor  sale, 
both  from  a  plentitiule-alreadv  on  hand,  a  want  of 
novelty  in  the  wares  and  the  absence  of  variety  and 
attractiveness  in  the  assortment. 

The  hostler's  reasons,  if  he  had  any,  tor  thus 
prying  into  the  affairs  of  a  guest  of  the  house  must 
be  pardoned  by  the  reader,  or  left  to  the  young  man 
himself,  to  excuse  or  palliate,  if  he  had  am  wi>h 
to  exonerate  himself  before  the  public,  in  case  it 
became  aware  of  his  enading  the  role  of  Paul  Prv 
with  no  present  seeming  regard  for  the  rights  of 
others.  But  if  success  be  any  palliation  in  this 
case,  as  is  accorded  in  many  others,  the  eavesdrop- 
ping William  might  well  be  forgiven  his  sceminglv 
unwarranted  behavior,  as  the  conversation  he  oxer- 
heard  will  amplv  testifv. 


,S8  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"The  old  man  wished  me  to  see  you,  to-night," 
began  Heath  as  soon  as  he  was  seated,  fortunately 
for  the  listener,  near  the  window,  and  assuming  a 
cautious  tone  of  voice,  but  yet  sufficiently  loud  to 
be  heard  by  both  his  auditors  ;  "as  the  Southbridge 
flimsies  are  nearly  finished  and  ready  for  market. 
He  suggests  that,  as  the  anniversary  of  the  battle 
of  Bunker's  Hill  will  soon  take  place  in  all  the  cities 
and  villages  where  he  designs  to  put  them  in  cir- 
culation, that  the  banks  will  be  closed,  and  many 
strangers  around,  and  much  money  handled,  that 
the  seventeenth  of  June  would  be  better  than  the 
fourth  of  July  for  our  purpose." 

"The  fourth  proved  a  prettv  good  day  for  the 
business  when  the  last  queer  was  shuffled,"  replied 
Roberts;  "and  perhaps  a  change  might  be  better, 
as  the  celebration  being  local  and,  of  necessity  the 
business  the  same,  I  am  of  opinion  that,  perhaps, 
under  all  the  circumstances,  the  seventeenth  would 
be  the  best  for  the  present  transaction.  Has  he  a 
large  amount  struck  off?" 

"About  thirty  thousand,"  said  Heath  ;  "and  the 
old  man  insists  that  the  rags  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  shovers  before  daylight  on  the  morning  of 
the  day,  and  not  before ;  that  before  midnight  ev- 
ery bill  not  passed  shall  be  effectually  destroyed, 
and  before  if  there  is  any  yelping.  He  is  satisfied 
that  fully  two-thirds  of  the  issue  can  be  got  rid  of 
during  the  day,  and  the  plate  is  so  good  that  no 
discovery  will  be  made  before  the  banks  open  in 
the  morning." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Will  he  be  as  particular  as  before?" 

"Fully  so,"  replied  Heath.  "No  writing  is  to 
be  used,  under  any  circumstances,  and  all  agents 
and  passers  are  to  be  disguised  from  each  other,  as 
well  as  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  no  words  to  be 
spoken  by  either.  There  are  to  be  printed  instruc- 
tions to  each  ;  and  there  is  already  an  advertise- 
ment, cautiously  worded,  but  accompanied  by  a 
token  that  can  be  recognized  by  all  in  the  swim, 
by  which  they  are  to  be  notified  when  and  where 
they  can  obtain  the  bills.  By  this  arrangement,  if 
striclly  adhered  to,  no  one  can  blow  on  another ; 
the  agent  can't  injure  the  utterer,  nor  any  one  who 
may  be  so  disposed,  hurt  any  but  himself." 

"Well  managed  !  Well  managed  !"  exclaimed 
Roberts.  "And  when  shall  I  be  obliged  to  start?" 

"On  Monday  of  week  after  next,  and  without 
fail,  as  the  whole  plan  depends  upon  promptness, 
energy  and  secrecy." 

"What  did  the  old  man  say  to  my  proposal  to 
come  and  see  him,  as  I  suggested  ?"  asked  Roberts. 

"Wouldn't  hear  to  it  for  an  instant,"  was  the  re- 
ply. "He  said  that  there  was  no  need  of  it,  but 
as  a  gratification  of  curiosity  ;  and  that  was  too 
poor  an  excuse  where  the  safety  of  men's  necks 
depended  upon  another's  fidelity  and  discretion. 
He  is  greatly  in  need  of  another  hand,  and  if  you 
choose  to  take  up  your  residence  there,  he  is  will- 
ing, otherwise  not.  I  was  satisfied,"  he  continued, 
on  seeing  the  other  shake  his  head.  "It's  a  good 
deal  like  being  in  a  prison,  for  no  one  is  allowed 


C)o  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

to  leave  the  vicinity,  or  have  communication  with 
any  outsiders,  while  in  his  employ ;  and  once  en- 
gaged, they  are  not  very  apt  to  leave.  This  host- 
ler here,  is  a  bright,  smart  fellow.  I  wonder  if  he 
could  be  engaged.  What's  his  condition?" 

"Broke,  strapped,"  replied  Roberts.  "Bright 
and  smart  enough.  He  was  hunting  for  a  job,  got 
in  debt  for  his  board  and  is  now  working  it  out — 
don't  know  whether  he  will  stay  after  he  has  paid 
up  or  not.  But  what  is  it  about  the  apparition  we 
saw  to-night?  If  I  am  not  mistaken  you  know 
more  about  it  than  you  pretend." 

"There  has  been  just  such  an  appearance  at  the 
mountain  for  several  months  back,  that  none  of  us 
could  account  for,  and  when  I  first  saw  it,  1  was 
satisfied  it  had  followed  me  from  there  ;  but  when 
the  horse  went  by  the  house,  I  recognized  both  the 
horse  and  rider,  the  first  as  the  old  man's  son's  big 
bay  mare,  and  the  last  as  the  old  man's  son,  him- 
self, and  argued  that  if  Sam — I  mean  the  young 
man,  had  the  ghost  in  his  arms,  it  was  all  right." 

The  last  question  of  the  astute  lawyer  had  been 
thrown  out  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  the  pre- 
tended pedler's  attention,  on  the  plan  of  the  wolf- 
chased  traveller,  who  flung  his  cloak  and  blanket 
to  his  pursuers,  to  employ  them  while  deeper  plans 
were  being  deliberated  upon  by  the  person  menac- 
ed. The  idea  of  employing  the  handsome  hostler 
at  Copper  Mountain,  both  from  its  eftedin  remov- 
ing one  that  his  keen  penetration  had  assured  him 
was  becoming  a  formidable  rival  to  his  own  hopes 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  91 

of  the  favor  of  the  landlord's  pretty  daughter,  and 
the  more  lasting  result,  in  the  utter  seclusion  from 
outside  associations,  hinted  at  by  Heath,  in  not  only 
parting  the  young  people,  but  maintaining  the  sep- 
aration until  such  time  as  his  own  purposes  could 
be  consumated,  struck  him  very  favorably.  And, 
during  the  period  occupied  by  his  companion's 
answer  and  a  minute  of  silence  following,  Roberts 
had  time  to  see  the  benefits  arising  from  such  an 
arrangement,  and  to  resolve  upon  furthering  it,  if 
possible. 

"•I  am  no  believer  in  supernatural  appearances, 
as  you,  no  doubt  are  aware,  from  the  remarks  I 
have  already  made  on  the  subject,"  he  commenced, 
"though  sometimes  at  a  loss  to  account  for  what 
has,  upon  its  face,  an  appearance  somewhat  out  of 
the  common  course.  As  to  young  Howard,  I  am 
of  opinion  that  he  is  just  the  man  that  you  want ; 
without  relatives  or  friends  in  the  vicinity  ;  athlet- 
ic and  willing  to  labor,  and  above  all,  in  need  of 
money ;  and,  I  say,  Heath,"  he  continued,  assum- 
ing a  confidential  tone;  "I  have  reasons  to  wish 
his  removal,  any  efforts  to  that  end,  on  your  part, 
will  be  taken  as  personal  favors,  and  claim  my  last- 
ing gratitude.  What  these  reasons  are  there  is  no 
need,  at  present,  of  telling,  although  of  sufficient 
importance  to  warrant  considerable  expense  on  my 
part.  An  intimation  to  this  effect  to  the  old  man, 
as  you  call  him,  should  be  an  assurance  of  acqui- 
escence on  his  part." 

"The  old  man, "said  Heath;    "feels  under  great 


0.2  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

obligations  to  his  friend  and  co-laborers,  and  when 
he  is  assured  that  the  young  man  is  engaged  at  your 
desire,  for  whatever  reason,  and  that  he  is  a  man 
that  can  be  trusted,  he  will  without  the  least  doubt 
give  him  a  job.  Being  a  stranger  he  will  take  him 
in,  on  your  recommendation." 

A  further  conversation,  occupying  perhaps,  ten 
minutes  of  time,  unimportant  because  disconnected 
with  our  affairs,  took  place  between  them,  when 
satisfied  that  the  efforts  at  privacy  might  cause  sus- 
picion or  question,  they  returned  to  the  bar-room  ; 
and  Roberts  who,  in  accordance  with  the  old  max- 
im of  ''business  before  pleasure,"  having  attended 
to  the  first  requisite,  made  haste  to  enjoy  the  last, 
in  company  of  one  who  certainly  could  not  com- 
plain of  want  of  constancy  and  assiduity  on  the 
part  of  her  admirer,  bv  adjourning  to  the  family 
sitting-room  of  the  tavern,  where  he  was  soon  en- 
gaged in  his  usual  style  of  pedantic  and  pleonastic 
discourse,  having  for  its  object  to  dazzle  the  coun- 
try maiden  to  whom  it  was  partially  directed,  with 
a  sensation  and  appreciation  of  his  talents  and  er- 
udition ;  a  sort  of  making  love  on  stilts  ;  with  what 
success  future  pages  of  these  veracious  chronicles 
may  disclose. 

The  bar-room  was  unoccupied,  save  by  the  hos- 
tler, who  was  lying  upon  his  back  on  the  closed 
lid  of  a  bunk  or  box-like  bedstead,  his  hands  un- 
der his  head  that  was  supported  by  an  old  overcoat 
that  was  folded  in  the  most  available  shape  to  make 
the  best  substitute  for  a  pillow.  The  young  man 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  93 

was  apparently  enjoying  a  nap,  preparatory  to  a 
night's  better  organized  sleep,  if  certain  sounds, 
tending  to  that  supposition  might  be  taken  as  proof. 
It  is  not  very  romantic  to  have  for  a  hero  one  who 
snores  very  loudly,  consequently,  to  maintain  the 
proprieties,  we  must  say  the  sounds  were  not  those 
usually  produced  from  the  double-barrelled  organ 
of  nocturnal  melody  of  those  confirmed  in  that  dis- 
agreeable habit ;  and  if  not  a  habit,  an  unfortunate 
peculiarity,  to  say  the  least ;  but  simply  a  length- 
ening and  increasing  of  the  breath  from  a  large  and 
healthy  pair  of  lungs,  occasioned  by  his  supinal 
and  uncomfortable  position. 

A  smile  of  satisfaction  passed  over  the  features 
of  the  pseudo  pedler  when  he  noticed  the  evidence 
of  an  absence  of  suspicion  or  watchfulness,  but  it 
quickly  vanished  when  a  longer  and  deeper  respi- 
ration than  the  others,  accompanied  by  certain 
stretchings  and  other  manifestations  of  an  intention 
on  the  part  of  the  sleeper  to  exchange  his  somno- 
lent state  for  one  of  wakefulness,  which,  from  the 
facl:  it  was  overacted,  might  well  have  made  him 
suspicious  were  it  not  for  the  further  fact,  that  he 
who  is  deceiving  another,'  rarely  expects  deceit  on 
the  part  of  the  one  he  is  endeavoring  to  cheat. 

A  question  or  two  as  to  the  well  being  and  well 
doing  of  his  "animile"  introduced  the  conversation 
intended  to  be  held  between  them,  when  Heath, 
quite  carelessly  remarked  : — 

"Ar'  yeou  calculatin'  tu  remain  for  any  great 
length  of  time  in  Mister  Morrison's  employment? 


94  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

I  shouldn't  reckon  that  he  could  pay  you  enough 
tu  make  it  any  object,  when  there's  plenty  of  places 
yeou  could  make  a  darn  sight  better  wages  an'  not 
have  ter  work  harder'n  yeou  du  here." 

"My  object  in  coming  into  this  country,  was  to 
search  for  labor,"  replied  Howard  ;  "and  I  accep- 
ted the  first  situation  that  opened.  I  should  not 
wish  to  leave  him  until  he  has  provided  himself 
with  a  substitute ;  but  shall  probably  remain  no 
longer  than  until  he  has  done  so." 

"Hev  yeou  got  any  place  in  yeour  eye?  'Cause 
if  yeou  hain't,  I  think  I  know  of  a  place  where 
yeou  can  'am  tew  dollars  a  day  an'  found,"  said 
Heath,  closely  watching  the  effect  of  his  words ; 
"and  that's  darn  good  pay  for  these  times.  But 
where  du  yeou  live  when  yeou're  ter  hum,  if  I 
may  be  so  bold  as  tu  ask  ?" 

"I  have  no  place  I  may  call  home,"  replied  the 
young  man.  "I  have  had  my  residence  for  the  last 
ten  years,  with  my  uncle  in  Landaff,  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  but  he  sold  his  farm,  last  fall,  and  I  left, 
in  search  of  my  fortune,  as  you  may  say.  Misfor- 
tune, however,  seems  heretofore  to  have  been  the 
result  of  my  hunt  thus  far;  but  I  live  in  hope  of 
better  times.  If  you  have  a  place  where  I  may 
make  two  dollars  a  day,  as  you  say,  and  the  busi- 
ness is  respectable,  I  should  be  tempted  to  take  up 
with  a  situation  that  seems  so  advantageous." 

"'Tain't  exaftly  my  business  that  I  was  speakin' 
about,"  said  Heath  ;  "but  a  friend  of  mine  told  me 
if  I  could  find  a  bright,  likely  young  feller,  that 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  95 

wasn't  afeard  of  work,  that  he  wanted  I  should  get 
him.  But  if  you  take  the  job  he  wants  you  right 
straight  off,  for  he's  mighty  hard  up  for  help,  jest 
now,  and  can't  wait  a  week." 

"What  is  the  nature  of  his  business?" 
"Minin',    minin'  for    copper  and  other  metals." 
"How  far  are  his  mines  from  here?" 
"Abeout  ten  miles,  I  guess,"  replied  Heath,  in- 
wardly   congratulating    himself  on  the  ease  with 
which  the  young  man  wastakingthe  bait    "Down 
by  Lake  'Magog,  jest  in  the  edge  of  Canada  ;  work 
only  ten  hours  a  day,  and,  the  cash  in  your  fingers 
every  Saturday  night,    and  no  questions    asked. — 
What  du  yeou  say?     Du  yeou  call  it  a  trade,  hey? 
Can't  du  better  now,  can  yeou?" 

"I  must  talk  with  Mr.  Morrison,  first,"  and  the 
handsome  hostler,  in  his  turn,  chuckled  inwardly, 
that  he  was  obtaining  a  situation  that  suited  his 
views  so  well ;  "and  I  will  give  you  an  answer  in 
the  morning,  either  accepting  or  rejecting." 

"Du  so,  du  so,"  said  Heath,  rubbing  his  hands. 
"And  I  say,  hain't  yeou  got  the  keys  tu  the  bar? 
I  wouldn't  mind  payin'  the  whiskey  on  our  ac- 
quaintance and  wishin' luck  to  our  trade.  What 
du  yeou  say?" 

They  were  soon  imbibing  the  contents  of  a  cou- 
ple of  tumblers,  or,  at  least,  appearing  to  do  so, 
but  the  glass  used  by  Howard  was  emptied  into  the 
slop-basin  in  such  a  manner  that  it  was  not  percei- 
ved by  Heath.  The  latter  individual  took  from  his 
pocket  aud  handed  to  the  other  a  twelve-and-a-  half 


96  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

cent-piece,  which  Howard  deftly  put  in  his  own 
pocket.  As  slyly  as  it  was  done,  however,  it  did 
not  escape  the  quick  eye  of  the  pedler,  and  he  put 
his  own  construction  on  the  act.  In  his  view,  it 
had  an  encouraging  look.  The  man  who  would 
steal  a  "ninepence"  of  his  employer's  money,  was 
just  the  man  he  wanted  to  find.  It  indicated  a  con- 
dition of  morals  that  tallied  well  with  his  own  and 
satisfied  him  that  his  new  employee  would  not  hes- 
itate to  engage  in  a  business  of  the  nature  of  which 
the  reader  is  already  acquainted  ;  and  he  more  than 
ever  inwardly  congratulated  himself  on  his  stroke 
of  good  luck. 

The  plunderer  of  many  thousands,  or  the  wreck- 
er of  a  bank,  where  the  booty  is  counted  by  still 
greater  figures,  may  have  the  consolation  that  the 
public  talks  of  their  daring  and  enterprise  with  a 
certain  kind  of  admiration,  and  their  names  and 
deeds  printed  in  display  type  in  the  reports  of  the 
penny-a-liners ;  but  the  paltry  till-tapper,  the  rob- 
ber of  cents  and  dimes,  from  an  employer,  has  no 
redeeming  quality  ;  and  he  who  is  guilty  of  so  con- 
temptible an  a6t,  has  no  cause  of  fault-finding  if 
those  who  know  it  deem  him  capable  of  any  mean 
crime,  and  the  change,  from  such  a  line  of  paltry 
thieving  to  that  of  counterfeiting,  is  in  the  nature 
of  a  promotion. 

An  hour  passed  and  Roberts,  fully  satisfied  with 
the  reception  he  had  received,  passed  out  the  door 
on  his  homeward  way.  The  pretended  pedler  was 
lighted  to  his  room,  and  the  house  was  quiet,  save 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  97 


the  whispers  of  two  individuals  in  a  corner  of  the 
dark  dining  room,  that  lasted  for  some  time  in  a 
low  tone,  too  low  for  even  the  trained  ears  of  the 
novel  writer,  but,  at  last,  getting  loud  enough  to  be 
heard  by  us. 

"It  is  an  opportunity  too  good  to  be  lost,  Elsie," 
were  the  first  words  we  were  enabled  to  hear,  in 
the  familiar  tones  of  Howard;  "and  has  been  the 
great  object  for  which  I  have  labored.  I  hate  to 
part  with  you,  dear  girl,  but  fate  seems  to  decree, 
and  I  should  be  the  last  one  to  disobey  her  evident 
command." 

"Why  need  you  go,  William?"  was  the  next  to 
be  heard,  in  a  voice  that  only  a  pretty  woman  could 
own,  very  sweet  and  very  persuasive  in  its  tones. 
"The  paltry  amount  of  money  to  be  earned,  poorly 
compensates  for  the  danger  you  incur;  nor  are  you 
sure  of  attaining  your  objecl:.  Here  you  have  a 
home,  with  friends  with  whom  to  associate ;  and, 
perhaps,"  she  continued,  playfully,  "while  you  are 
gone  I  shall  repent  of  my  infidelity  to  Mr.  Roberts 
and  take  him  back  to  favor.  He  is  very  attentive." 
"Of  that  I  have  but  little  fear,  as  well  as  vou  are 
now  acquainted  with  his  character,"  replied  the 
still  suppressed  voice  of  the  hostler;  "and  I  have 
too  good  an  opinion  of  your  constancy,  notwith- 
standing the  glaring  instance  of  its  breach  so  late- 
ly manifested;"  and  followed  other  sounds,  labial, 
it  is  true,  and  in  a  certain  sense,  syllabic,  vet  of  a 
nature  so  difficult  to  be  expressed  upon  paper  by 
any  characters  now  known,  that  we  will  not  make 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^+*~*s^s-+*»^*^*^^^^~*-^-' ^--^^^ 

an  attempt  at  the  impossible  task  ;  merely  remark- 
ing that,  to  the  ears  of  the  absent  and  self-opinion- 
ated Roberts,  thev  would  have  been  vastly  more 
disagreeable  than  to  the  parties  whose  lips  formed 
them  and  to  whose  conversation  they  seemed  to 
serve  as  notes  of  exclamation,  or  more  properly, 
of  admiration. 

"And  yet,"  continued  the  girl,  when  the  tongue 
resumed  its  part  in  the  colloquy;  "from  all  the 
circumstances  known  to  you,  I  must  continue  to 
recieve  his  unwelcome  attentions  for  the  present." 

"Do  so;  do  so  by  all  means,"  urged  Howard  ; 
"for  although  it  is  not  a  general  rule,  it  has  its  ex- 
ceptions sometimes,  that,  'the  end  justifies  the 
means',  and  that  a  little  wrong  may  be  done,  that 
a  greater  good  mav  come  of  it." 

"And  the  benefit  must  be  immense,"  replied  the 
girl,  with  a  cheerful  manner,  yet  with  a  vein  of 
seriousness  in  her  tone;  "to  warrant  me  in  endur- 
ing his  senseless  twaddle  for  an  hour  every  even- 
ing, and  pretend  an  attention  and  interestedness  I 
am  so  far  from  feeling." 

"Remember  that  it  is  in  a  good  cause,  Elsie  ; 
and  that  his  pedantry  and  self-opinion  do  you  no 
harm,  while  it  seems  to  be  prodigiously  pleasant 
and  interesting  to  himself;  and  its  effusion  in  your 
presence,  really  a  safety  to  him  for,  if  he  had  no 
vent  for  it,  he  must  explode  under  such  a  pressure 
of  vain-glorv." 

A  slight  sound  of  moving  chairs  in  the  family 
-sitting-room,  at  this  juncture,  put  a  period  to  their 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  99 

conversation,  and  they  soon  separated  ;  and  on  the 
following  morning,  the  handsome  hostler  bid  fare- 
well to  the  tavern  of  honest  Dan  Morrison  and  its 
inmates  and  accompanying  the  pedler,  he  was  soon 
on  his  wav  to  his  new  field  of  labor,  the  mines  of 
Copper  Mountain. 

Will  William  Howard  ever  return  to  the  quiet, 
home-like  life  there  enjoyed?  His  undertaking  is 
one  of  serious  menace,  and  the  adventures  he  must 
meet  in  that  den  of  mystery  and  crime  must,  to  one 
of  his  enterprising  spirit,  be  of  more  than  ordina- 
ry interest,  if  not  danger ;  or  will  he  pass  the  inci- 
dents and  accidents  of  that  association,  unscathed, 
and  return  to  her  he  loves;  or  will  the  assassin's 
knife  or  bullet,  or  the  strong  arm  of  violated  law 
mete  out  a  punishment  his  course  would  seem  to 
challenge?  There  is  a  glorious  uncertainty  to  us 
mortals,  in  the  locked  cabinet  of  the  future,  that, 
not  only  puzzles  but  deeply  interests  the  ordinary 
human  being,  but  adds,  after  all,  a  charm  to  life  a 
certainty  would  make  unbearable. 

It  will  scarcely  be  necessary  for  the  writer  to  re- 
cord the  events  of  the  monotonous  journey,  nor 
the  introduction  of  the  new  "hand"  to  his  employ- 
ers, or  his  induction  into  his  new  situation  ;  save 
that  he  seemed  to  give  satisfaction,  by  his  appear- 
ance, to  the  two  Pruyters.  He  was  not  initiated 
into  all  the  mysteries  of  that  situation  at  once,  but 
sufficient  was  disclosed  to  him  to  satisfy  a  mind  al- 
ready made  suspicious  by  the  overheard  colloquy 
between  Roberts  and  Heath,  that  there  were  acls, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

*^+****r**s^^^**~~^r*^*^+^^~-^s~*<^-^ 

of  which  did  the  officials  become  cognizant,  the 
law  would  take  sharp  notice ;  but,  as  he  cared  but 
little  of  what  his  employers  were  guiltv,  so  long 
as  the  pay  was  good  and  secure  and  he  was  safe  in 
his  own  person,  he  received  his  instructions  with 
a  proper  attention  and  acquiescence,  and  took  the 
oath  by  which  all  were  bound,  as  they  told  him, 
without  winking,  although,  at  times,  his  hair  had 
a  feeling  as  if  struggling  from  a  horizontal  to  a 
perpendicular  position,  when  he  heard  some  of  the 
hopes  of  direful  penalties,  which  it  contained  and 
were  to  be  endured,  did  he  by  thought,  word  or 
deed,  or  by  mark  or  writing,  disclose  any  myste- 
ries he  might  hear,  see  or  become  cognizant  of,  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  dwellers,  in  and  around, 
Copper  Mountain. 

These  matters  being  properly  attended  to,  and 
many  a  word  of  advice  and  caution  given  by  the 
elder  Pruyter,  young  Howard  was  dismissed  to  his 
labor,  that  of  a  miner  in  one  of  the  leads,  several 
rods  back  of  the  stone  house  in  the  pass,  where, 
for  the  present,  we  must  leave  him,  to  hear  the 
strange  stories  of  his  companions,  of  the  ghosts, 
goblins  and  other  supernatural  beings  of  the  vicin- 
ity, and  to  toil  his  allotted  hours,  until  such  time 
as  more  stirring  events  shall  vary  the  monotony  of 
his  occupation,  "of  which,"  as  Andrew  Fairser- 
vice  would  sav,  "more  anon." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

ATTACK    ON    THE    PATRIOTS. 

OCTOR  HERBERT  LORIMER,  for  to 
such  a  peaceful  appellation  was  he  enti- 
tled ere  he  assumed  the  more  bellipotent 
one  of  Captain,  found  himself,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  by  the  death  of  both  his  parents, 
alone  in  the  world,  with  the  exception  of  his  only 
brother,  Hector,  already  presented  to  the  reader, 
of  whom  his  mother  had,  on  her  death-bed,  given 
him  earnest  and  particular  charge.  This  would 
seem  scarcely  necessary  when  we  take  into  con- 
sideration the  great  affection  borne  to  each  other, 
by  the  so  much  dissimilar  brothers.  His  property 
was  large,  and  the  profession  of  medicine,  that  he 
had  studied  at  the  instance  of  a  judicious  father, 
while  it  seemed  a  useless  accomplishment,  as  far 
as  the  procurement  of  a  livelihood  was  concerned, 
and  the  title,  like  the  permanent  flexure  of  certain 
caudal  appendages,  more  for  ornament  than  use, 
seemed  a  prudent  investment  of  a  small  part  of  a 
surplus  capital  in  a  business  unlikely  to  be  affected 
by  the  fluctuations  of  the  money  market  or,  in  a 
time  of  emergency,  to  suspend  or  refuse  to  discount 
a  sure  means  of  subsistence  when  other  ventures, 
or  investments  fail. 

Of  a  peculiarly  ardent  and  imaginative  temper- 
ament, the  young  Canadian  was  a  great  lover  of 
excitement  and  adventure ;  so  much  so  as  to  make 
him,  in  a  slight  degree,  Quixotic  in  character,  that 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 
_^_ ^^^^-^ • ~~-^ 

tended  to  lead  him  into  many  situations  that  a  sober 
second  thought  would  have  kept  him  out  of.  The 
rebellion  of  Papineau  seemed  a  godsend,  at  this 
time,  as  furnishing  a  safety-valve  for  his  surplus  of 
vitality,  both  as  a  preventive  of  less  worthy  pur- 
suits, and  to  engage  an  attention  a  good  deal  dis- 
tracted by  the  sudden  disappearance  of  one  he  had 
quickly  learned  to  love,  the  winsome  and  adventu- 
rous Helen  Leonard. 

The  burning  eloquence  of  the  French  patriot  had 
found  in  Dr.  Lorimer  a  ready  response ;  and  the 
fact  that  the  lost  one  resided  near  Steadville,  had 
induced  him  to  request  a  command  at  that  point, 
which  had  as  readily  been  accorded  him,  by  those 
in  authority,  who  seemed  pleased  to  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  such  a  desirable  auxiliary  to  their  cause, 
on  his  own  terms. 

He  had,  when  we  first  saw  him,  been  "over  the 
line"  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  conference  with 
Papineau,  who  was  in  the  "States,"  at  that  time, 
and  was  just  returning,  when  his  predominant  dis- 
position to  knight-errantrv,  coupled  with  the  facl: 
that  he  would  be  pursuing  a  course  towards  his  in- 
tended destination,  led  him  into  the  chase  we  have 
recorded.  The  obstacles  in  his  path,  to  overcome 
which  must  have  required  time  that  he  could  not 
well  spare,  very  easily  induced  him  to  relinquish 
a  pursuit  in  which  he  supposed  he  had  no  personal 
interest  and  a  press  of  other  matters  on  his  mind, 
soon  obliterated  all  thought  of  that  particular  aff- 
air, which,  we  may  well  imagine  would  have  not 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  103 

been  the  case  had  he  been  aware  of  the  person  of 
the  abducled  girl  and  the  subsequent  events  that 
his  failure  to  release  her  were  to  lead  to,  both  as 
concerned  himself  and  one  very  dear  to  him. 

Having,  as  we  have  seen  some  pages  back,  sur- 
rendered the  charge  of  his  favorite  to  the  choice- 
constituted  guardian,  Lorimer  made  his  way  on 
foot  toward  the  hay-shed  mentioned.  The  moon 
had  gained  such  an  altitude  that  objects  in  the  field 
began  to  be  quite  distinctly  discernable  ;  and  dis- 
covered, at  intervals  along  his  pathway,  here  and 
there  small  patches  of  low  shrubbei-y  that,  while 
they  appeared  spontaneous  growth,  to  a  keen  ob- 
server would  seem  to  have  rather  too  regular  an 
appearance,  both  as  to  size  and  situation,  to  have 
been  placed  there  by  nature.  The  latter  supposi- 
tion seemed  to  have  a  warrant  from  the  facl:  that  on 
his  approach  to  each  one,  in  succession,  a  figure 
would  arise  from  its  shelter  as  if  to  dispute  his 
further  progress  ;  but  the  seeming  sentinel  would 
appear  satisfied  by  a  few  murmured  words  from  the 
Captain  and  to  drop  back,  out  of  sight,  as  silently 
as  it  had  appeared. 

Making  his  way,  notwithstanding  these  inter- 
ruptions, directly  to  the  shed,  he  pulled  away  a 
portion  of  the  long  blades  and  stems  of  hay,  at 
one  side  of  the  stack  and  applying  his  hand  to  n 
certain  portion  of  it,  a  door  opened  and  he  stepped 
into  a  large  and  well-lighted  room,  thus  artfullv 
concealed  in  the  pretended  hay-stack  The  apart- 
ment contained  fullvtwentv  individuals,  of  various 


104 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


ages  and  appearance,  who  had  evidently  been  en- 
gaged in  a  somewhat  animated  conversation,  until 
interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  Lorimer.  They  at 
once  dropped  the  subject  of  dispute  and  gathered 
around  the  Captain,  and  each  countenance,  in  its 
own  peculiar  way,  showed  its  delight  at  his  com- 
ing, and  so  manifestly  that  he  might  well  be  proud 
of  the  reception,  as  coming  from  hearts  that  gave 
him  sincere  greeting. 

"Welcome,  Captain  Lorimer  !"  exclaimed  a  tall, 
well  looking  man,  as  he  grasped  the  hand  of  his 
leader  and  shook  it  with  fervor;  "we  have  waited 
as  patiently  as  may  be,  for  your  coining,  but  came 
verv  near  to  pulling  hair  on  your  account.  But 
what  news?  What  news?" 

"Some  good,  some  bad  and  some  indifferent," 
replied  Lorimer.  "The  muskets  and  accoutre- 
ments and  one  six-pounder,  Napoleon  gun  are  on 
the  way  and  will  arrive  in  less  than  a  week,  with 
thirty  good  men  from  Vermont,  under  Captain 
Blake  to  handle  the  cannon." 

••Well,  by  George,  that  is  good  news." 

"The  Earl  of  Gosford  has  been  recalled,  and  the 
Earl  of  Durham  appointed  Governor  General,  and 
is  already  on  his  way  to  Canada,  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  certain  ads  of  Parliament  tending 
to  the  extermination  and  utter  annihilation  of  the 
rebels  of  this  poor  Province.  Look  out,  my  boys 
then,  for  a  volley  of  Peel's  paper  bullets,  in  the 
shape  of  Proclamations." 

"And  that,  I  conclude,  is  your  indifferent  news," 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  IC>5 

said  the  man  who  had  before  addressed  him  ;  "for 
it  certainly  is  so  to  us  who  care  but  little  whether 
Gosford  or  Durham  or  the  devil  has  the  title  that 
will  soon  be  merely  a  title;  for,  God  willing,  the 
days  of  king  made  governors  are  growing  beauti- 
fully less,  in  Canada." 

"•But,  in  this  connection,  comes  my  other  qual- 
ity of  news,"  continued  Lorimer.  "I  have  in  my 
possession,  a  written  communication,  sighed  by 
General  Papineau,  commanding  all  organizations 
of  "Sons  of  Liberty"  to  disband,  at  once;  or,  at 
least,  to  discontinue  all  active  operations,  for  a 
season.  I  had  a  long  conference  with  him  upon 
.the  subject,  in  which  he  informed  me  that  present 
efforts  must  inevitably  meet  with  disaster  and  de- 
feat;  that  two  extra  regiments  had  been  ordered 
forward  by  the  governor,  and  our  only  hope  was 
to  lie  perdu,  for  a  time.  I  remonstrated  and  even 
intimated  that  I  should  hesitate  to  obey  the  order; 
but  he  brought  so  many  arguments  and  evidences 
of  the  correctness  of  his  position  that  I  was,  at  last, 
obliged  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  in  the  right." 

"Your  bad  news,  Captain,  has  eclipsed  and  put 
far  out  of  sight  all  the  rest,"  responded  the  other. 

And  then  commenced  an  eager  dispute  among 
the  men,  in  which  arguments,  pro  and  con,  were 
urged  with  much  earnestness  and  some  acrimony  ; 
but  after  a  season  the  better  reason  assumed  sway, 
and  though  the  irritated  feelings  of  some  were,  in 
a  measure,  curbed  by  conviction,  they  finally  ac- 
cepted the  situation,  but  not  without  reiterations 


106  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  a  determination  to  visit  their  disappointment  in 
being  compelled  to  wait,  the  more  heartily  upon 
the  heads  of  those  who  were  the  cause  of  it. 

Almost  any  matter  of  lively  disputation,  where 
there  are  as  many  as  a  score  of  debaters,  requires 
some  time  in  the  formal  settlement  of  the  question  ; 
and  where  there  are  so  many  to  talk,  it  is  usually 
the  case  that  several  talk  at  once  and,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  the  argument  is  attended  with  consider- 
able clamor,  notwithstanding  each*  is  aware  of  the 
necessitv  of  caution.  When  the  conclusion  was 
arrived  at  and  the  uproar  somewhat  abated,  they 
became  sensible  that  other  noises  were  rife,  and 
somewhat  strange  ones  also,  for  the  most  unearth- 
ly howling,  as  of  a  dozen  of  insane  dogs,  with  ex- 
cellent lungs,  were  joining  in  mad  chorus,  fell  on 
their  ears.  A  hasty  looking  out  at  the  door,  dis- 
closed a  tall  figure,  about  mid  wav  between  the  road 
and  shed,  approaching  with  a  speed  that  would  put 
to  shame  one  of  the  most  approved  thoroughbreds 
of  the  turf,  ever  and  anon  uttering  a  most  terriffic 
howl ;  and  when  opposed  by  the  sentinels,  one  af- 
ter another,  sweeping  them  from  his  path  as  would 
the  cowcatcher  of  a  locomotive,  gasping: — 

"Yes,  bright  neicht  the  neicht,  an'  he  dommed 
te  ye  !': 

The  lookers-on  quickly  discovered  the  advancing 
figure  to  be  that  of  Alick  Cameron  who,  with  per- 
spiring face  and  streaming  locks,  burst  upon  the 
startled  group  like  a  Parrott  shell  in  full  career. 

For  a  full  minute  the  breast   of  the  honest  Scot 


TIIR  COUNTERFEITERS.  107 

heaved,  while  his  lips  strove  in  vain  to  utter  a  sin- 
gle word  ;  but  it  came  at  last : — 

"Ye  maun  flit,  lads — £ae  red  coat  kens  tae  tryste 
an' — tha'll  e'en  be  down  on  us, — like  a  duck  on  a 
June  bug — an'  be  dommed  ta  'em  !" 

Hasty  and  startled  inquiries  soon  drew  from  the 
panting  man  that  he  had  heard  the  whole  plan  of 
the  attack  talked  over  in  the  bar-room,  where  he 
was  a  prisoner,  and  that  the  orders  had  already 
been  issued  to  mount  for  the  expedition. 

Had  Captain  Lorimer's  men  who,  including  the 
sentinels,  amounted  to  thirty  or  more  in  number, 
been  properly  armed,  and  superior  orders  had  not 
been  received  to  make  no  aclive  movements,  that 
individual  would,  no  doubt,  have  made  arrange- 
ments to  meet  the  attacking  party  in  a  manner  dif- 
ferent from  the  one  adopted  ;  but,  under  the  pres- 
ent circumstances,  discretion  was  far  the  better 
part  of  valor,  and  he  at  once  gave  orders  for  them 
to  fall  back  to  a  patch  of  woods,  on  the  extreme 
confines  of  the  meadow,  and  watch  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  royalists.  The  sentinels  were  called  in 
and  the  band  of  patriots  fell  quietly  back  to  the 
point  mentioned. 

Before  they  went,  however,  Heclor  Lorimer, 
who  had  joined  the  party  from  some  unknown 
quarter,  about  the  time  of  the  uproar  caused  by  the 
Scotchman's  arrival,  after  borrowing  an  old  over- 
coat or  two,  with  hats  to  match,  had  stuffed  them 
with, hay  from  their  rendezvous,  into  quite  respecl- 
able  images  of  men.  These  he  placed  in  the  most 


108  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

conspicuous  positions  in  the  meadow,  several  rods 
in  advance  of  the  shed ;  placed  a  stick  over  the 
shoulder  of  each,  and  rejoined  his  companions. 
•  "Well,  Hector,  bov,  what  da  you  propose  to  do 
with  your  effigies?"  asked  Captain  Lorimer,  who 
had  watched  with  some  interest  his  brother's  pro- 
ceedings. "Do  you  imagine  that  Captain  Stan- 
field's  troop  is  to  be  frightened  like  so  many  crows, 
by  your  scare-crows?  We  have  but  a  poor  opin- 
ion of  his  New  Brunswick  levies,  but  we  can  hard- 
ly rate  them  so  low  as  soldiers,  as  that  comes  to." 

"They  are  a  pack  of  carrion  birds,  at  best,"  re- 
turned Hector  in  his  childish  voice,  in  which  was 
a  spice  of  mischief;  "but  as  my  big  brother,  in  his 
immense  wisdom  and  great  military  knowledge, 
has  seen  fit  to  withdraw  from  his  first  baftle  with- 
out firing  a  gun,  I  want  to  learn  these  red-coated 
dragoons  that  I  shall  not  belie  my  name,  and  that 
an  affair  with  the  rear-guard,  under  General  Hec- 
tor, is  a  far  more  serious  matter  than  they  antici- 
pate. They  have  often  wished  to  meet  what  they 
term  ragmuffins,  and  I  don't  want  to  balk  them  of 
their  hopes." 

Saying  which,  the  dwarf,  placing  his  hands  on 
the  shoulders  of  one  of  the  tallest  in  the  party, 
sprang  lightly  over  his  head,  as  boys  do  in  "leap- 
frog," without  the  necessity,  however,  of  the  man's 
being  obliged  to  stoop  or  "make  a  back,"  as  it  is 
termed  in  boy  vernacular,  and,  with  a  shrill  laugh 
bounded  away  through  the  trees,  and  quickly  dis- 
appeared beneath  their  shade. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  109 

The  anxious  watchers  waited  nearl'y  a  half-hour 
before  anything  transpired  to  break  the  monotony 
of  their  vigil.  At  the  end  of  that  tims  they  began 
to  discover  several  shadowy  forms  gathering  from 
various  directions,  apparently  engaged  in  cautious- 
ly surrounding  the  hay  shed,  in  which  they  with- 
out doubt,  imagined  their  prey  was  still  snugly  en- 
sconced. The  troopers  seemed  to  give  the  bogus 
sentinels  a  wide  berth,  although  some  half-a-score 
began  to  gather  in  the  shadow  of  a  few  trees,  by 
the  roadside,  with  the  apparent  intention  of  mak- 
ing a  sudden  charge  upon  them.  Nor  did  their 
actions  belie  their  intent  for,  when  the  cordon  ar- 
ound the  devoted  hay-stack  was  complete,  a  sharp 
word  of  command  was  heard,  and  the  attacking 
party  pressed  rapidlv  forward  from  every  direction, 
overthrowing  the  "men  of  straw,"  or  hay,  rather, 
in  their  career  and  gathered,  about  forty  mounted 
men,  around  the  suspected  lair  of  the  rebels. 

A  heart}-  English  hurrah  woke  the  echoes  of  the 
night  but  nothing  else.  The  lonely  hay-rick  was 
as  lonely  as  ever ;  no  sound  of  any  kind  answering 
the  shout.  A  good  deal  surprised,  yet  partially 
prepared  for  such  a  result,  from  the  discovery  of 
the  fact  that  the  enemy  they  had  already  met  were 
but  images,  the  men  quickly  broke  down  a  portion 
of  the  sheltering  wall.  The  nest  was  there,  and 
warm  yet  but,  alas,  the  birds  were  flown  ;  whith- 
er, their  glances  of  disappointment  and  rage  failed 
to  discover.  A  piece  of  paper,  upon  which  was 
some  writing  was  to  be  seen,  but  in  the  moonlight 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 
^^^-^^^^ — *-~->^ — * 

not  easily  to'be    read,  was  discovered  pinned  to  a 
post  supporting  the  wall. 

"This  way,  a  light,"  commanded  Captain  Stan- 
field,  with  an  oath,  to  a  man  who  had  just  come 
up  with  a  torch,  as  he  angrily  snatched  the  docu- 
ment from  its  place  and  hastily  scanned  its  char- 
acters. "By  the  cross  of  St.  George  of  England, 
this  is  adding  insult  to  injury.  Hear  what  the 
mongrel  ragmuffins  have  penned  for  our  perusal : 

'MOST    VALLIANT  AND    ASTUTE    REDCOATS  : 

While  we  are  unable  to  deny  a  full  knowledge 
of  the  hour  and  purpose  of  your  kind  visit,  we 
must  plead  our  want  of  courtesy  in  not  remaining 
to  give  such  eminent  visitors  a  proper  reception  ; 
one  becoming  the  personages  calling.  We  trust, 
however,  that  our  remissness  in  courtesy  will  be 
amply  atoned  for,  when  we  exhibit  for  your  delec- 
tation some  feats  of  dexterity,  agility  and  skill  of 
the  tourney. 

HECTOR  LORIMER,   Com'dt  rearguard." 

Now  what  the  d— 1  does  he  mean  by  that  last, 
I  should  be  pleased  to  be  informed  ?  I  had  sup- 
posed Captain  Lorimer  to  be  too  much  of  a  man 
to  enter  into  such  boyishness  as  this  ;  although  it 
is  of  a  piece  of  his  undertaking,  in  trying  to  face 
the  soldiers  of  Her  Majesty,  with  such  a  mongrel 
pack  of  ragmuffins  and  such  scum." 

He  was  informed  by  one  of  his  subordinates 
that  the  writing  was  not  by  Captain  Lorimer  but, 
evidently,  by  his  apish  brother,  as  he  saw  fit,  in 
his  irreverence  to  denominate  him. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Well,  by  my  commission,  whether  by  Captain 
or  Captain's  ape,  I'll  learn  them  not  to  put  such 
affronts  upon  me,"  retorted  the  incensed  leader. 
"The  knowledge  of  our  plans  and  its  betrayal  to 
these  rebels,  must  be  laid  at  the  door  of  that  ras- 
cally Scotchman  ;  and,  sergeant  Wilson,  you  may 
detail  six  men,  among  them,  your  squad  who  let 
the  drunken  Scot  get  away,  and  remain  here,  as  a 
guard,  and  be  sure  you  give  them  duty  enough  to 
learn  them  to  be  more  careful  in  future." 

With  these  words  Captain  Stanfield  and  the  rest 
of  his  troopers  who,  like  a  certain  other  officer  and 
men,  had  marched  up  the  hill,  marched  down  again 
swearing  as  did  also  another  army  in  Flanders. 

The  departure  of  the  main  force,  leaving  the 
seven  men  who  had  already  experienced  more  than 
their  usual  amount  of  duty  in  furnishing  videttes 
and  sentinels,  left  some  heart-burnings  in  its  rear. 
The  subordinate,  however,  knew  how  to  visit  his 
superior's  sternness  to  himself  upon  the  real  cul- 
prits;  and  while  he  allowed  the  four  others  to  dis- 
mount and  picket  their  chargers,  he  compelled  the 
two  unfortunates  who  had  been  the  victims  of  a 
misplaced  confidence  in  the  inability  of  the  wily 
Alick's  simulated  intoxication  to  play  them  such  a 
trick,  to  patrol  the  vicinity,  hither  and  thither,  up 
and  down,  across  and  back  again,  around  the  way 
the  sun  goes,  and  again  in  an  opposite  direction, 
in  search  of  an  enemy,  the  officer  was  well  satis- 
fied was  miles  away,  and  no  two  together.  This 
proceeding,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  caused  a 


II2  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

superabundance  of  the  Queen's  strongest  and  most 
emphatic  English  to  be  earnestly  used  by  the  two 
unlucky  soldiers. 

The  little  band  of  patriots,  secure  in  their  hiding 
place,  watched  the  manoeuvres,  with  a  very  accu- 
rate conception  of  their  real  meaning  and  conse- 
quently had  little  fear  of  detection.  Captain  Lor- 
imer  continued  his  instructions  on  the  subject  of 
disbanding ;  informed  them  that,  for  the  present, 
he  should  remain  at  the  tavern  of  Dan  Morrison, 
in  Melas ;  advised  a  peaceable  dispersion  to  their 
several  places  of  residence,  where,  by  a  late  proc- 
lamation, they  would  be  secure  from  arrest  or  dis- 
turbance ;  shook  hands  with  them,  one  by  one  and 
a  portion  had  begun  to  leave  the  rendezvous,  when 
their  attention  was  called  by  certain  movements, 
quite  different  from  those  before  transpiring,  in  the 
moonlighted  space  before  them.  These  consisted 
of  a  rapid  charge  of  one  of  the  troopers  toward  a 
low  stone  wall  bordering  the  meadow,  apparently 
in  pursuit  of  some  object  that  had  attracted  his  at- 
tention. The  charge,  seemingly  so  violent  and  so 
courageous,  was  brought  to  a  somewhat  hasty  and 
lame  termination,  however,  by  the  sudden  wheel- 
ing of  the  soldier  and  his  slow  retreat,  while  he 
gazed  apprehensively  over  his  shoulder,  as  if  in 
doubt  of  the  real  nature  of  the  thing  he  had  been 
so  anxious  to  investigate  a  moment  before. 

And  well  might  the  ignorant  red-coat  question 
his  eyesight  or  his  judgement,  if  not  in  the  secret, 
when  he  saw  what  had  every  appearance  of  being 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  113 

a  monster  baboon,  bearing  in  one  of  his  paws  a 
light  pole  some  dozen  feet  in  length,  spring  upon 
the  wall,  chattering  and  gibing  hideously,  while  he 
lashed  his  tail  from  side  to  side  like  an  angry  bul- 
lock. In  an  instant  the  horse,  on  which  the  soldier 
sat,  instigated  by  a  covert  touch  of  the  rowels,  as- 
sumed a  somewhat  accelerated  pace,  but  seeing  his 
comrades'  eyes  fixed  upon  him,  much  against  his 
will,  he  checked  him  partially,  in  his  career.  Of 
this  the  monster  took  instant  advantage  and,  by  the 
aid  of  his  pole,  and  his  wonderful  proficiency  in  its 
use,  took  prodigious  leaps  in  pursuit.  There  ap- 
peared to  be  quite  a  dispute  in  the  trooper's  mind 
whether  to  turn  and  fight,  prompted  bvhis  fear  of 
ridicule  and  certain  grains  of  courage  that  he  pos- 
sessed, or  to  fly,  urged  thereto  by  the  many  pounds 
of  fear  that  the  sight  of  the  unknown  animal  in- 
spired him  with,  and  a  yearning  wish  to  escape, 
unharmed,  from  the  terrible  claws  that  a  fear-inci- 
ted imagination  gave  the  creature,  in  default  of 
what  a  better  evesight  might  have  proven. 

All  such  matters  of  debate  were  speedily  put  at 
rest  by.  the  terriffic  speed  with  which  the  grinning 
beast  approached  ;  and  despite  of  ridicule  or  inti- 
mation of  cowardice,  and  the  last  remains  of  bra- 
very oozing  from  his  finger' s-ends,  the  thoroughly 
frightened  and  demoralized  soldier,  with  a  last  look 
over  his  shoulder,  sunk  his  rowels  deep  in  the  hor- 
se's side.  Too  late,  too  late,  miserable  man  ;  for 
the  last  bound  of  the  enraged  beast  landed  him, 
with  an  eldrich  yell,  square  on  the  crouper  and  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

terrified  soldier  heard  the  fiendish  gibber  and  saw 
the  sharp,  white  teeth  within  an  inch  of  his  shrink- 
ing ear;  and  like  the  man  whose  horse,  in  endea- 
voring to  remove  from  a  tender  spot  a  troublesome 
fly,  caught  his  foot  in  the  stirrup,  resolved,  that  if 
he  had  determined  to  mount,  himself  would  get  oft", 
which  he  proceeded  to  do  without  hesitancy,  and 
to  make  most  excellent  use  of  the  two  legs  yet  re- 
maining him,  to  put  as  much  distance  as  possible, 
between  him  arid  his  tormentor. 

This  success,  so  much  more  easily  obtained  than 
he  had  any  reason  to  expect,  seemed  to  put  the  de- 
vil into  the  reckless  and  daring  dwarf,  and  drop- 
ping to  the  saddle,  he  poised  his  leaping-pole  like 
a  lance,  uttered  a  diabolical  scream,  and  charged 
straight  upon  the  dismounted  and  wholly  unpre- 
pared soldiers  near  a  fire  they  had  kindled.  It  was 
too  much  for  their  equanimity  and  courage,  for, 
although  they  would  have  faced  any  human  foe, 
under  like  circumstances,  the  fearful  form  and  face 
of  the  approaching  figure  unsettling  all  preconcei- 
ved notions  of  discipline  and  pride,  and  they  took 
incontinently  to  their  heels,  leaving  arms  and  hor- 
ses, a  prey  to  the  spoiler.  The  sergeant,  who  was 
a  sturdy  fellow,  and  had  been  several  paces  from 
the  fire,  holding  his  charger  by  the  bridle,  no  soon- 
er perceived  the  utter  route  of  his  command,  than 
he  sprang  into  the  saddle,  and  grasping  a  holster 
pistol,  aimed  fully  at  the  monster,  who  was  now 
turned  toward  himself,  and  pulled  the  trigger.— 
Hedor,  who  had  seen  the  ad,  as  quick  as  thought 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  I  I  5 

dropped  along  the  horse's  back  and  the  ball  passed 
harmlessly  above  him,  when  he  instantly  resumed 
his*  perpendicular.  This  feat  had  been  so  quickly 
performed  that,  obscured  by  the  smoke  of  his  wea- 
pon, the  sergeant  had  failed  to  see  it,  and  knowing 
his  proficiency  with  that  arm,  and  satisfied  of  his 
aim,  he  was  much  surprised  and  a  little  startled  by 
the  want  of  efiedl  produced  by  his  shot.  He  had 
no  time  to  grasp  the  other  pistol  before  the  uncouth 
horseman  was  upon  him,  and  the  pole  striking  him 
on  the  shoulder  and  his  seat,  already  disturbed  by 
the_  frightened  shying  of  his  horse,  failed  him  and 
he  was  instantly  unhorsed  and  the  steed  bounded 
wildly  away  after  the  trooper  who  as  yet  remained 
mounted,  and  was  careering  hurriedly,  for  head- 
quarters and  safety. 

Now  sergeant  Wilson,  as  before  intimated,  was 
a  man  of  courage  and  ready,  at  all  times,  to  do  his 
duty  fearlessly;  but  he  was  a  Nova  Scotian,  and 
formerly  a  farmer  ;  a  good  planter  of  corn  and  po- 
tatoes ;  an  excellent  sower  of  wheat  and  oats  and 
rye  and  barley ;  a  faithful  mower,  raker,  reaper 
and  plowman,  and  with  six  months  of  drill,  had 
become  a  very  passable  soldier ;  and,  from  these 
facts,  the  latter  excepted,  in  a  degree  unsophistica- 
ted, and  a  very  poor  naturalist.  He  had  seen  pic- 
tures of  baboons  and,  at  one  time,  a  live  one.  He 
had  also  pictured,  in  his  mind's  eye,  an  image  of 
His  Satanic  Majesty  ;  but  was  so  little  acquainted 
with  either  that  he  was  unable,  by  moonlight,  es- 
pecially, to  make  a  close  discrimination  between 


Il6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  two;  and  when  he  saw  the  remarkable  figure, 
so  grotesquely  mounted,  pass  him,  after  having 
experienced  an  amount  of  strength  in  the  dwarfish 
form  that  well  might  seem  supernatural,  several 
very  dubious  thoughts  began  to  crawl  through  his 
mind,  and  he  began  to  experience  some  uneasy 
sensations.  His  abrupt  fall  and  the  sudden  depar- 
ture of  his  four-footed  companion,  had  left  him  en- 
tirelv  unarmed ;  and  when  he  saw  the  knight  of 
the  leaping-pole  again  in  full  career  upon  him,  the 
point  of  the  unusual  weapon  bearing  full  upon  his 
stomach,  and  knowing  full  well  the  terrible  effect 
it  would  produce  should  it  attain  its  mark  ;  sorry- 
are  we  to  record  the  fact,  he  turned  and  fled,  too ; 
a  good  soldier,  the  last  to  leave  a  field  of  battle  ; 
but  with  the  disgrace  of  defeat  in  his  first  contest, 
rankling  in  his  breast. 

The  field  clear,  and  this  last  and  most  ludicrous 
sequel  of  a  most  ludicrous  insurrection,  for  it  nev- 
er assumed  a  magnitude  entitling  it  to  the  name  of 
rebellion,  much  less  of  a  revolution,  being  ended, 
as  tragedies  usually  are,  by  a  farce,  the  victor  be- 
gan to  gather  the  spoils.  These  consisted  of  five 
horses,  with  trappings  complete,  even  to  holster 
pistols,  and  in  four  instances,  with  a  regulation 
carbine  hung  to  the  saddle. 

In  the  mean  time  the  band  of  hidden  patriots, 
who  had  looked  upon  the  affair  with  some  awe.  at 
first,  but  a  Vast  deal  of  mirth,  when  Captain  Lor- 
imer  had  explained  to  them  the  secret  of  his  broth- 
er's disguise,  (a  suit  of  sealskin  that  he  himself  had 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  I  I  7 

purchased  for  him)  as  soon  as  the  affair  terminated 
gave  the  man-monkey  three  rousing  cheers. 

"And  now,  my  friends,"  said  the  Captain,  turn- 
ing to  them  when  his  anxiety  for  his  brother's  safe- 
ty had  been  fully  allayed  by  the  flight  of  his  last 
opponent;  "once  more  good-bye,  and  though  we 
are  compelled  to  now  relinquish,  for  a  season,  our 
cherished  hopes  of  freedom  for  Canada,  let  not  the 
hope  die  out,  but  let  every  man  of  our  little  band 
eredl,  in  his  own  heart  an  altar,  on  which  let  him 
kindle  the  tire  of  patriotism  ;  let  him  as  jealously 
guard  it,  night  and  day,  as  does  the  Astec  priest 
the  sacred  fire  of  Montezuma,  until  such  time  as, 
united,  they  shall  make  a  flame  so  intense  that  the 
whole  force  of  England  shall  not  have  power  to 
subdue  it.  Though  cut  down  now  by  the  frost  of 
disappointment,  the  seed  this  year  sown  shall  not 
be  lost,  but  shall  flourish  only  the  more  fiercely, 
when  the  time  comes  for  it  again  to  spring  up,  for 
the  reverse  it  has  now  met ;  and  though  many  years 
may  elapse,  yet  some  of  us  here  present  shall  see 
the  day  when  Canada  is  Free  !  And  as  for  that 
one,"  he  continued  in  a  changed  and  somewhat 
fierce  tone,  as  he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  a  dark  look- 
ing young  man  near  him  ;  "as  tor  the  one  who  has 
been  so  lost  to  all  principles  of  honor  and  decency  ; 
who  has  assumed  the  role  of  the  American  Arn- 
old, and  vilely  betrayed  us  to  our  enemies,  I  have 
no  words,  save  that  his  own  conscience  will  punish 
him  more  severely  than  could  I,  and  leave  him  to 
the  contempt  his  treachery  deserves." 


US  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

An  instant  the  young  man  hesitated,  then  his 
eyes  dropped  and  he  slunk  away,  followed  by  the 
hisses  of  his  former  comrades. 

"Hold,  Alick!"  exclaimed  the  Captain,  seeing 
the  Scotchman,  with  an  ugly  knife  in  his  hand,  as 
he  stole  after  the  traitor.  "The  times  will  not  al- 
low anything  of  that  kind  now.  Mount  one  of  the 
horses  and  ride  with  us." 

The  incensed  Scot  hesitated  a  moment,  turned, 
muttering,  and  as  Hector  rode  up  at  this  instant  he 
sullenly  mounted  as  ordered ;  and  in  a  half-hour  a 
lonely  vidette  on  a  little  travelled  road  that  crossed 
the  line  some  two  miles  west  of  Steadville,  saw  a 
cavalcade  of  three  horsemen,  each  with  a  led  ani- 
mal, flash  past  his  post  like  phantom  riders,  and 
disappear  around  a  curve  in  the  road. 

Reaching  a  crossroad  a  mile  farther  south,  the 
Scot  intimated  that  he  would  there  leave  them,  as 
he  had  a  brother  residing  at  a  short  distance,  and 
proposed  to  make  that  spot  his  abiding  place  until 
the  affair  should  blow  over.  Lorimer  pressed  upon 
him  one  of  the  captured  horses,  but  the  warv  Scot 
declined  the  offer  on  the  supposition  that  the  pos- 
session would  be  difficult  to  explain  should  imper- 
tinent questions  be  asked.  Dismounting,  he  gave 
to  Herbert  the  bracelet  he  had  found,  explaining 
how  he  came  by  it,  and  whistling  "Bonnie  Doon," 
disappeared,  and  the  brothers,  securing  the  horses, 
were  soon  on  their  way  to  honest  Dan  Morrison's 
hostelry,  where  in  due  season  they  arrived,  without 
further  adventure  worthy  of  record. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  119 

CHAPTER  VII. 
SAMUEL  PRUYTER'S  WOOING. 
S  the  events  last  recorded  were  transpiring 
in  the  vicinity  of  Steadville,  some  other 
occurrences  were  in  progress  in  the  Stone 
House  in  the  Pass,  that  were  destined  to 
affecl,  in  a  material  degree,  the  fates  of  some  of  the 
personages  of  this  drama.  As  already  written,  Hel- 
en Leonard  had  been  again  shut  up  in  the  room 
from  which  she  had  formerly  escaped,  in  what  ap- 
peared to  her  keepers,  so  miraculous  a  manner; 
and  notwithstanding  her  extreme  fatigue,  the  spir- 
ited girl  made  manual  examination  of  the  bars  she 
had  seen  yield  so  readily  to  the  hand  of  her  form- 
er visitant,  but,  to  her  great  disappointment,  they 
proved  as  unyielding  as  the  solid  wall  itself.  It  is 
true  she  could  feel  a  slight  jar  when  she  wrenched 
at  them  with  her  full  strength,  as  if  they  were  par- 
tially loose  in  their  sockets,  but  otherwise  seemed 
immovable. 

As  was  before  intimated,  the  prisoner  was  not  a 
person  on  whom  ,  superstitious  fears  had  very  per- 
manent hold,  albeit  she  had  been  reared  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  a  place  reputed  to  be  haunted 
by  divers  description  of  evil  spirits;  and  had  heard 
the  matter  discussed  almost  daily,  from  her  youth 
to  her  present  age  ;  and  the  fact  of  the  existence  of 
disembodied  spirits  acknowledged  by  almost  all 
her  acquaintance  and  friends  ;  yet  a  constant  drop- 
ping, it  is  said  will  wear  a  stone,  and  in  her  long 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

., s^^-v^^x-^>-^>~--^^^^>~~~. . 

solitude  and  with  the  events  of  the  last  two  days 
fresh  in  her  mind,  it  was  not,  at  all,  strange  or  re- 
markable that  she  should  begin  to  have  serious 
doubts.  While  she  was  enabled,  as  she  supposed, 
to  account  for  all  uncommon  appearances  from  ra- 
tional and  natural  causes,  she  felt  comparatively 
easy  in  her  mind  ;  but  when  a  single  question  arose, 
she  began  to  fear ;  a  natural  consequence  of  her 
want  of  decided  assurance.  Almost  exhausted  by 
fatigue,  anxiety  and  apprehension,  the  poor  girl 
ceased  her  efforts  on  the  bars  and  throwing  herself 
into  a  chair,  placed  her  elbow  upon  the  table,  res- 
ted her  chin  in  the  palm  of  her  hand,  gazed  out, 
dreamily,  at  the  mysterious  window  and,  though 
knowing  it  not,  followed  with  her  eyes  the  flicker- 
ing and  ever  shifting  shadows  of  the  rough  crags 
and  waving  branches  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the 
pass,  thrown  there  by  the  almost  full  moon,  shin- 
ing from  a  cloudless  sky ;  while  in  her  mind  she 
run  over  the  happenings  of  the  last  eight-and-fortv 
hours,  and  meditated  upon  her  situation. 

In  another  room  of  the  same  building  stood  the 
Printers,  father  and  son.  There  was  a  fierce,  sul- 
len light  in  the  eyes  of  the  elder  of  the  two.  His 
brows  were  gathered  down  over  the  sunken  orbs 
beneath,  in  a  black  line ;  his  teeth  were  set,  the 
lips  drawn  back  like  those  of  a  wolf,  while  he 
waved  his  clutched  hands  menacingly  toward  his 
son,  as  if  to  enforce  some  statement  he  had  made. 

"I  tell  you  again,"  he  hissed  through  his  teeth  ; 
"I  tell  you  again,  she  must  die.  I  will  not  trust 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

my  safety  in  the  hands  of  so  inveterate  a  foe  as  she 
has  always  proved.  I  trust  not  her  promise,  even 
if  she  can  be  induced  to  give  one.  And  she  knows 
more  than  the  fact  that  we  are  counterfeiters.  Her 
mother  told  her  much  before  she  died.  I  tell  you 
again,  she  must  die,  die  !" 

"But  as  my  wife " 

"Not  if  she  was  my  own  child,  in  truth,"  inter- 
rupted the  old  man.  "I  trust  not  to  woman,  un- 
der any  circumstances.  They  will  gabble  their 
secrets  even  if  they  have  to  do  it  in  their  sleep. 
But  one  word — a  glance — a  significant  pointing 
— would  be  enough  to  let  loose  the  hounds  of  the 
law  on  our  track ;  and  suspicion  but  once  aroused 
they  would  dog  us  to  the  death." 

"But  the  danger  of  discovery,"  urged  the  young 
man  ;  "her  being  missed  and  sought  after.  That 
devil  of  a  Captain  Lorimer,  who  chased  me  this 
very  night ;  and  I  passed  the  long-legged  Scotch- 
man, Alick  Cameron,  and  I  am  sure  he  must  have 
recognized  me  if  not  the  girl." 

"Dastard  !"  almost  yelled  the  old  man.  "Das- 
tard, to  count  the  cost,  actuated  by  your  craven 
heart,  when  our  very  lives  are  the  price.  An  ar- 
rant coward  whose  paternity  I  doubt " 

"Hold  there,  old  man  !"  exclaimed  the  son,  his 
eyes  in  a  blaze,  and  the  color  of  his  face  crimson  ; 
"Hold  there  !  Father  as  you  are,  such  words  must 
not  be  spoken  while  my  life  and  strength  are  left. 
A  coward  you  know  I  am  not ;  and  when  you  doubt 
as  you  say  you  do,  my  being  your  son,  you  cast  a 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^-*.r*^~*r+^******^^s^~-~*^*' ^ — * 

slur  upon  the  departed  one,  that  no  other  man  had 
done,  and  lived  an  hour." 

"Chut,  boy,"  growled  the  father;  "you  crow 
loudly  for  a  bantam.  But  enough  of  this.  She 
must  die.  And  you  dare  not,  on  your  oath,  ques- 
tion the  decree  of  the  judges  who  have  so  deter- 
mined ;  and  to  yield  gracefully,  is  your  best  way." 

These  last  words  seemed  to  show  the  young  man 
the  folly  of  opposition  and  he  changed  his  manner, 
at  once,  from  menace  to  supplication. 

"I  admit  it  all,  father,  but  they,  when  they  gave 
the  judgement  of  death,  at  my  instance,  said,  that 
as  my  wife  and  a  member  of  the  band,  she  should 
be  spared ;  and  you  made  her  the  same  promise, 
when  she  was  first  arrested." 

It  was  the  old  man's  turn  to  wince  now,  for  Sam- 
nel  had  told  the  truth,  antl  even  he,  chief  as  he 
was,  dare  not  run  counter,  openly,  to  the  decision 
there  made ;  accordingly,  while  he  seemed  to  ac- 
quiesce, his  thoughts  were  busy  with  plans  of  re- 
moving the  prisoner,  Helen  Leonard  who,  as  the 
reader  must  know,  was  the  subject  of  consultation, 
in  the  most  secret,  the  most  expeditious  and  the 
most  certain  manner,  from  his  way. 

"Go,  then,  foolish  boy,"  he  said,  in  an  altered 
tone;  "go  and  again  receive  her  refusal — you  are 
sure  to  get  it— for  she  would  meet  death  with  a  rel- 
ish before  she  would  wed  with  you,  knowing  what 
she  does." 

"Her  late  fruitless  effort  to  escape,  with  the  full 
knowledge  that  she  is  completely  in  the  power  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  I  23 

men  who,  her  own  good  sense  must  assure  her  are 
desperate,  will  influence  her  decision  in  my  favor. 
The  utter  hopelessness  of  any  mercy  at  our  hands, 
must  be  plain  to  her  now  ;  nor  is  she  unaware  of 
the  deep  affection  that  I  have  for  her,  and  sincere 
love,  with  nothing  to  influence  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion, is  sure  to  beget  love,  sooner  or  later,  in  the 
bosom  of  the  loved." 

"A  very  plausible  argument,"  sneered  old  Pruy- 
ter,  "when  you  forget  the  contempt  she  has  ever 
manifested  for  yourself;  and  that  her  love — love  ! 
the  cant  of  sickly  sentimental  boys  and  girls — is, 
already  possessed  by  another ;  and  he  the  beau- 
ideal  of  a  romantic  girl  whose  notions  are  the  re- 
sult of  novel  reading  and  the  early  instructions  of 
a  weak  brained  mother." 

"There  is  no  evidence  of  heraffedlion  being  en- 
listed tor  Dr.  Lorimer,  except  his  letter,"  argued 
the  young  man  uneasily;  "and  that  merely  inti- 
mates an  anxiety  to  see  her  again,  and  blames  her 
for  having  given  no  information  of  her  intended 
departure  from  Montreal,  or  the  place  to  which  she 
was  going;  and  surely,  if  she  loved  him  she  would 
not  have  left  without  giving  him  some  idea  of  her 
destination." 

"Well,  have  your  own  wav.  One  might  as.  well 
attempt  to  reason  with  a  maniac,  as  with  a  fool 
who  imagines  himself  in  love." 

As  soon  as  the  young  man  departed,  on  his  far 
from  hopeless  mission,  the  old  man  resumed  his 
restless  tramp  across  the  floor  of  his  room,  where 


124 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


he  was  left  alone  ;  his  determined  mind  active  in 
cogitations  on  the  subject  his  son's  arguments  had 
instituted;  nor  did  he  observe  a  "woman's  face  at 
the  window,"  watching  his  every  motion  with  its 
searching  eves.  For  nearly  an  hour  his  nervous 
tramp  continued,  ever  and  anon  accompanied  by 
low  mutterings  and  fierce  gestures,  that  witnessed 
the  depth  and  determination  of  his  mental  debate. 
At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  interrupted  by  the 
entrance  of  a  middle  aged  woman,  the  wife  of  one 
of  the  band,  who  served  as  cook  for  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass.  She  was  a  short, 
thick-set  Irish  woman,  whose  countenance  bore  on 
it  the  indellible  marks  of  a  life  of  debaucherv  and 
crime,  mingled  with  a  cunning  leer  in  her  bleared 
eyes  that  was,  to  say  the  least,  uncomfortable  to 
behold.  She  bore  in  her  hands  a  small  salver,  on 
which  might  be  seen  several  coarse  viands,  clum- 
sily and  untidilv  arranged,  among  which  steamed 
a  mug  of  muddy  tea,  with  its  accompaniments  of 
milk  and  sugar. 

"The  young  lady's  supper,  hey,  Maggie?"  said 
old  Pruyter,  as  she  entered,  looking  hastily  over 
the  collection ;  "quite  a  sumptuous  repast,  girl ; 
but  you  have  no  water.  The  young  lady  may  be 
thirsty,  after  her  ride.  You  may  set  down  the  tray 
and  procure  some." 

Scarcely  had  the  woman  left  the  room,  than  the 
old  man  took  from  his  pocket  a  small  vial  of  dark 
brown  liquid  and  emptied  a  portion  of  its  contents 
into  the  vessel  containing  the  beverage  previously 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  125 

prepared.  The  woman  soon  returned  with  a  gob- 
let of  wrater,  and  taking  up  the  salver,  went  on  her 
way  to  the  room  of  the  prisoner ;  while  the  old 
villain  chuckled  quietly  at  his  dark  deed,  nor  yet 
saw  the  "woman's  face  at  the  window,"  that  now 
turned  hastily  away. 

Although  endowed,  as  we  have  seen,  with  a 
greater  share  of  courage  than  usually  falls  to  the 
lot  of  feminine  nature,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  the 
adventures  Helen  Leonard  had  so  lately  experien- 
ced, would  have  a  tendency  to  increase  that  quality 
to  a  sufficient  degree  to  withstand  without  some 
trepidation  and  uneasiness,  their  e fleet.  As  before 
intimated  she  had  become  fully  aware  of  the  ex- 
treme peril  into  which  her  natural  curiosity  had 
plunged  her ;  nor  could  she  contemplate,  without 
serious  misgivings,  the  dangers  so^losely  surroun- 
ding her.  That  the  secret  in  her  possession  was 
a  deadly  one,  she  easily  perceived,  when  she  ac- 
knowledged, as  she  was  forced  to  do,  the  position 
in  which  she  had,  by  her  acl,  placed  the  Pruyters 
and  their  coadjutors,  steeped  in  crime,  as  they  were 
and  utterly  desperate  in  their  endeavor  to  shield 
themselves  from  exposure  and  consequent  punish- 
ment for  their  misdoings;  nor  had  she  the  charity 
to  suppose  that  they  would  be  induced  to  leniency 
by  any  recognition  of  family  associations  or  affec- 
tion, when  their  own  liberty,  if  not  lives  were  in 
the  scale.  These  considerations,  added  to  the  be- 
lief in  the  supernatural  appearances  and  manifest- 
ations that  were  being  forced  upon  her  credulity, 


126  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

much  against  her  better  reason,  had  plunged  her 
into  the  flood  of  painful  and  uneasy  meditation  in 
which  we  left  her,  hardly  an, hour  ago. 

While  these  bitter  fancies  were  submerging  her 
mind,  and,  for  the  time,  shut  out  all  exterior  mat- 
ters, her  thoughts  most  naturally  turned  to  one  for 
whom  she  had,  unknown  to  herself  until  now,  in 
her  emergency,  experienced  a  feeling  so  entirely 
new  to  her,  that  she  was  at  a  loss  to  give  it  a  name, 
much  less  acknowledge  that  it  was  love;  yet  she 
bitterly  repented  of  leaving  him  so  abruptly  as  she 
had,  without  any  intimation  of  her  destination  ; 
that  her  woman's  wit  might  easily  have  accomp- 
lished, had  she  then  felt  as  she  now  did  ;  nor  did 
she  fail  fretfully  to  blame  him  for  not  being  present 
to  aid  her  in  this  her  hour  of  dire  necessity.  Un- 
reasonable as  ttns  must  appear,  before  we  censure 
her,  let  us  consider  her  need  and  the  natural  feeling 
of  dependence  in  one  she  loves  that  has  ever  been 
implanted  in  the  breast  of  woman.  A  few  mo- 
ments of  self  consultation,  however,  banished  the 
unjust  thought  from  her  mind  ;  and,  whether  she 
was  prompted  by  memory'or  by  some  outward  in- 
fluence, &s  we  are  sometimes  in  our  dreams,  her 
thoughts  recurred  to  the  mystical  female  who  had 
been  her  deliverer  on  the  former  occasion.  While 
yet  she  was  asking  if  she  would  again  come  to  her 
aid,  her  eyes  becoming  sensible  to  exterior  affairs, 
saw  under  a  tree,  but  a  few  rods  from  her  window, 
the  same  sad  face,  evidently  gazing  upon  her,  with 
her  wild  and  unnatural  eves. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  127 


Helen  sprang  hastily  to  her  feet  and  approach- 
ing the  window,  near  which  she  sat,  would  have 
made  some  signals  for  the  strange  being  to  come  to 
her  but,  to  her  surprise,  the  face  had- disappeared. 
Uncertain  whether  after  all  the  apparition  was  not 
the  eftedl  of  imagination,  she  sadly  returned  to  her 
seat,  whence  she  was  soon  drawn  by  the  sound  of 
a  gentle  knock  upon  the  only  cloor  entering  her 
room.  Supposing  it  to  be  the  supper  that  had  been 
intimated  by  Mr.  Samuel  Pruyter,  would  soon  be 
sent  to  her,  and  of  which  she  stood  so  greatly  in 
need,  from  her  long  fast,  she  quickly  shot  the  bolt 
and  admitted  the  young  man,  himself.  His  ap- 
pearance had  the  same  effecl:  upon  the  young  lady 
that  a  dash  of  ice-water  in  the  face  of  one  afflicted 
with  coma  would  have  done  ;  and  she  was  restored 
at  once  to  her  full  spirit  and  courage  by  the  sight 
of  the  person  to  whom,  of  all  others,  she  attribu- 
ted her  present  position  ;  and  there  was  a  spice  of 
the  old  asperity  in  her  tones  as  she  said,  even  be- 
fore his  naturally  glib  tongue  could  anticipate  her: 
"To  what  unfortunate  circumstance  am  I  in- 
debted for  the  presence  of  Mr.  Samuel  Pruyter  in 
mv  sleeping  apartment,  at  this  late  hour?" 

"To  no  disrespect  for  your  person,  I  must  assure 
you,"  replied  the  young  man,  taken  somewhat  a- 
back  by  this  peremptory  challenge.  "To  no  dis- 
respect, and  for  no  purpose  contrary  to  the  inten- 
tions of  any  man  of  honor, " 

"Man  of  honor!"  she  retorted.  "Do  you,  you, 
a  counterfeiter  and  utterer  of  base  coin,  expect  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^-v-^-^-- ^-^ ~^~^+^~r^ *-^>-+-^^ 

palm  any  of  your  ungenuine  honor  upon  one  who 
knows  you  so  well,  in  anticipation  that  she  will  re- 
ceive it  as  otherwise  than  spurious  and  give  you 
credit  for  the  debt  of  decency  you  owe." 

"I  assure  you,  Miss  Leonard,"  replied  the  young 
man,  who  was  fast  recovering  his  usual  assurance, 
"that  whatever  be  the  nature  of  the  commodities 
in  which  I  deal,  my  respedt  and  affection  for  you 
are  true  and  genuine,  and  that  it  is  only  your  cru- 
elty and  unappreciation  that  gives  them,  to  your 
ears,  their  false  ring  or,  to  your  eyes,  their  illegit- 
imate complexion." 

"Your  respect  and  affection,  as  you  see  fit  to 
denominate  your  feelings,  have  certainly  a  strange 
way  of  manifesting  themselves  ;  first,  in  shutting 
me  in  this  dismal,  prison-like  room,  and,  second, 
when  by  some  good  angel  I  am  delivered,  you  fol- 
low me,  like  the  hound  in  scent  of  a  hare,  and  hav- 
ing caught,  bear  me  back,  despite  my  most  earnest 
remonstrances  and  struggles  to  a  hopeless  and  help- 
less captivity." 

"To  neither  a  hopeless  or  helpless  bondage," 
exclaimed  the  young  man,  earnestly,  dropping  on 
his  knees;  "in  place  of  iron  bars,  I  offer  you  the 
protection  of  my  arms ;  instead  of  four  walls  of 
stone  I  give  you  my  heart  for  a  home,  and  only  the 
silken  strings  of  love  where  now  are  bolts  or  locks. 
Helen,  dear  Helen,"  he  went  on,  passionately,  as 
he  attempted  to  sieze  her  hand,  but  failed;  "for 
many,  many  years  I  have  loved  you  better  than  my 
tongue  is  able  to  tell ;  ever  since  I  have  reached 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  129 

the  age  of  manhood  your  face  has  been  the  bright 
star  of  my  existence,  the  loadstone  that  has  drawn 
my  heart  irresistably  to  your  side,  notwithstanding 
your  sneers  and  your  cruelty.  I  rnay  be  unworthy, 
aye,  criminal,  but  remember  I  was  born  and  bred 
among  those  whose  occupation  was  the  same,  and 
I  was  led  from  my  earliest  youth  in  the  path  that 
1  am  treading,  with  none  to  chide  or  inform  me  of 
my  error,  until  age  had  learned  me  the  sad  truth. 
For  you,  Helen,  dear  Helen,  I  will  forsake  a  course 
so  full  of  sin  and  danger;  but  vouchsafe  me  your 
love  and  I  will  leave  this  place,  this  country — all 
my  former  and  present  pursuits  shall  be  abandon- 
ed— and  I  will  live  a  good  and  true  man.  Do  not, 
I  beg  of  you,  turn  away  your  head.  Give  me  but 
one  smile,  one  look  that  I  can  torture  into  a  con- 
sent that  I  may  hope  and  I  shall  be  indeed  happy." 
This  appeal,  though  supremely  ridiculous  to  the 
heart  of  his  auditor,  had  the  effecT:  of  convincing 
her  of  his  sincerity,  and  shot  through  her  mind  an 
idea  that  had  never  been  there  before;  and  while 
she  would  not  give  the  encouragement  he  pleaded 
for,  she  resolved  to  temporize,  and  in  furtherance 
of  that  plan,  just  as  he  was  about  to  resume,  she 
bade  him  rise  from  his  position,  in  a  voice  so  much 
changed  from  the  one  she  had  used,  that  he  sprang 
from  his  knees  to  his  feet,  with  hope  in  its  bright- 
est colors  dancing  on  his  features. 

"•Should  I  acquiesce  in  your  proposal,"  began 
Helen,  for  the  purpose  of  checking  her  admirer  in 
some  transports  in  which  he  was  indulging;  "not 


130  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

that  I  would  admit  that  I  have  any  such  present 
expectation,  what  would  be  the  situation  of  your 
intended  bride?  Should  I  beat  liberty,  or  be  com- 
pelled to  spend  the  last  days  of  my  maidenhood  in 
this  dungeon,  as  I  must  call  it?" 

•'Why, — you  see — you  perceive — "  he  hesitated 
and  stammered  ;  you  see,  ahem  !  Knowing  what 
you  do,  it  would  be  exceedingly  unsafe  to  set  you 
at  liberty  until  the  ceremony  is  performed  ;  and  as 
a  consequence,  the  earliest  day  possible,  would  be 
the  most  advisable." 

"Then  you  propose  to  keep  your  intended  bride 
a  close  prisoner,"  and  her  lip  began  to  curl  again  ; 
"so  that  you  may  not  loose  her,  either  bv  flight, 
'  or  by  the  efforts  of  some  more  favored  rival,  who 
may  succeed  better  than  yourself,  although  he  has 
not  the  benefit  of  the  judgement  of  a  band  of  out- 
laws to  put  an  innocent  girl  to  death,  to  back  him 
in  his  wooing." 

Now  this  was,  to  the  suitor,  like  the  abrading 
of  an  already  badly  chafed  surface,  and  he  replied 
somewhat  roughly  : — 

"Whatever  rival  I  may  have  had,  ere  this  time 
is  on  his  way  to  a  felon's  cell.  A  certain  Dr.  Lor- 
imer,  now — God  save  the  mark — Captain  Lorimer 
of  the  Steadville  'Sons  of  Liberty'  was,  to-night, 
attacked  by  Captain  Stanfield's  troopers  and,  with- 
out doubt,  is  a  prisoner." 

"And  what  know  you  of  Dr.  Lorimer's  connec- 
tion with  me?"  asked  Helen,  whose  turn  it  now 
was  to  be  surprised  at  the  other's  words. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"A  letter  from  him  to  you,"  confessed  Pruyter, 
blushing,  if  the  suffusion  of  blood  caused  by  shame 
may  be  so  called  ;  "fell  into  the  hands  of  one  of 
our  men,  and  he  showed  it  to  me.  The  letter  con- 
tained sufficient  information  on  which  to  found  a 
judgement." 

"You  admit,  then,  that  you  have  become  so  low 
and  despicable  in  your  acts  as  to  have  pried  into 
an  intercepted  letter,  even  if  you,  yourself,  was  not 
the  person  that  diverted  it  from  its  intended  course. 
Surely  you  bring  many  recommendations  to  the 
respect  and  love  of  your  intended." 

"You  know  the  alternative,"  fiercely  exclaimed 
the  young  man,  driven  to  the  highest  pitch  of  rage 
by  the  girl's  sarcasm,  and  throwing  oft' the  garb  of 
sincerity  and  respect,  which  after  all  was  the  true 
covering,  and  determined  that  if  affection  would 
not  accomplish  his  end,  that  terror  should  ;  "by 
which  your  life  may  be  saved." 

"A  quick  change  in  your  style  of  wooing,"  said 
the  girl,  almost  smiling,  notwithstanding  her  fears  ; 
"you  seem  quite  versatile,  in  your  talents  in  that 
line.  Nothing  but  a  vast  amount  of  experience 
could  have  enabled  you  to  adopt  so  many  ways, 
and  all  of  them  so  successful,  for,"  and  her  voice 
became  low  and  sad  and  tearful,  (she  was  a  good 
actress,  for  one  so  young  and  untrained).  "I  am 
too  young  and  too  fearful  to  die.  This  is  a  mat- 
ter of  great  importance  to  me,  and  one  demanding 
a  longer  consideration  than  I  have  yet  had  time  to 
devote  to  it ;  therefore  you  must  give  me  sufficient 


132 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


time  to  make  up  my  mind.  In  the  meantime,  al- 
though I  may  bid  you  hope,  I  must  assure  you  that 

for  the  present,  the  indignities  I  have  experienced 
are  too  fresh  to  be  readily  condoned.  Time  may 
enable  me  to  appreciate  your  affection,  and  perhaps 

I  say,   perhaps — I  may  return  it." 

The  change  was  so  sudden,  so  unlocked  for,  that 
the  young  man  was  astonished  ;  and  it  took  sever- 
al minutes  for  him  to  recover  from  his  surprise. 
When  he  had  done  so,  the  young  lady  was  in  a 
fair  way  to  experience  some  manifestations  of  his 
joyousness,  had  she  not  quietly  repulsed  him.  Sat- 

'  isfied  with  the  glimpse  of  bliss,  although  as  through 
a  glass,  darkly,  he  was  per  force,  compelled  to  be 
pleased,  for  at  that  moment,  Maggie  entered  with 
the  supper  tray  and  he  left  the  room.1 

For  a  single  instant  Helen  Leonard  looked  into 
the  face  of  the  new-comer,  hoping  there  to  find 
some  expression  on  which  she  might  found  a  hope 
of  her  assistance;  but  Maggie  had.  not  on,  at  that 
particular  moment,  her  amiable  look,  and  the  girl, 
seeing  nothing  to  her  but  disappointment,  dispair- 
ed,  and  bid  her  leave,  which  she  did. 

How  many  a  page  has  been  written  ;  how  mam 
in  stances  brought  forward  to  illustrate  the  fact,  and 
even,  how  manv  sermons  have  been  thundered 
from  the  pulpit,  to  show  how  many  great  things 
have  hinged  upon  the  most  trifling;  how  great  a 
matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  ;  how  a  look,  a  motion, 
a  single  word,  cast,  made  or  spoken,  in  the  most 
idle  manner  have  decided  the  fate  of  individuals, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  states  and  of  nations.  And  so,  in  this  case. 
Had  Maggie  been  a  trifle  better  natured,  at  the 
time;  had  Helen  Leonard  been  .a  less  expert  phys- 
iognomist, the  denouement  of  this  tale  had  been 
different,,  for,  no  doubt,  while  Helen  talked  with 
her,  hoping  to  induce  her  to  aid  her,  she  would, 
tortured  as  she  was,  at  that  instant,  with  hunger 
and  thirst,  have  devoured  her  supper,  and  with  it, 
the  beverage  in  whose  depths  was  certain  death, 
but  fate,  or  Maggie's  unsvmpathizing  face,  saved 
her  life,  on  that  occasion  ;  for  no  sooner  were  the 
echoes  of  the  closing  door  silent,  than  the  young 
lady,  who  had  already  prepared  the  deadly  draught 
and  held  it  in  her  hand,  heard  a  slight  sound  at 
her  window. 

Startled  as  she  was  by  the  interruption,  Helen 
sat  down  the  untested  tea,  and  turning,  saw  the 
same  mysterious  face ;  saw  the  grating  swing  eas- 
ily back,  the  sash  rise  and  the  woman  step  into  her 
chamber.  Even  before  the  surprised  girl  could 
make  a  remark,  the  woman  raised  the  mug,  emp- 
tied the  contents  from  the  window,  replaced  the 
cup,  turned,  passed  out,  closed  the  window,  the 
heavy  grating,  and  disappeared. 

The  truly  celebrated  Mr.  Lillyvick,  collector  of 
water  rates,  could  have  scarcely  been  more  aston- 
ished, when  Newman  Noggs  abstracted  from  his 
very  grasp,  almost,  his  glass  of  punch,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  Kenwig's  party,  than  was  Miss  Hel- 
en, when  the  beverage  on  which  she  had  almost 
set  her  lips,  was  so  abruptly  seized  and  emptied, 


accompanied,  as  it  was  by  the-  silent  apparition. 
Tnis  remarkable  circumstance  was  a  new  topic  of 
meditation,  and  even  when  she  had  bolted  her  .door 
and  consigned  herself  to  her  bed,  some  remains 
of  her  busy  thoughts  occupied  her  upon  an  affair 
so  startling.  Nor  did.the  part  that  she  had  played 
in  the  peculiar  courtship  of  Mr.  Samuel  Pruyter, 
sit  so  easily  on  her  conscience  as  she  would  gladly 
have  had  it.  But  we  have  already  trespassed  too 
long  on  the  forbidden  ground  of  a  maiden's  bed- 
chamber and  will  forego  even  the  novelist's  prerog- 
ative, and  leave  her  to  the  sleep  and  dreams  that 
innocence  and  conscious  rectitude  ever  beget. 

If  ignorance  is  almost  invariably  attended  by 
superstition, crime  is  as  surely,  if  not  more  so,  the 
never  separated  companion  of  the  supernatural  and 
miraculous.  The  petty  thief  ever  sees  in  the  un- 
known the  dreaded  lineaments  of  the  bailiff;  the 
counterfeiter  feels  his  spurious  money  heavily  pul- 
ing him  down,  and  the  murderer  imagines  he  sees 
in  every  bush  and  tree  and  rock  a  likeness  of  his 
victim,  come  again  to  denounce  his  slayer.  To 
such  an  extent  do  these  fancies  sometimes  go,  that 
rather  than  endure  the  torments  of  conscience,  and 
superstitious  tear,  men  of  blood  have  been  known 
to  give  themselves  up  to  the  officers  of  justice,  con- 
fusing their  crime,  as  a  relief  to  the  terrors  engen- 
dered by  their  belief  in  the  fact  that  disembodied 
spirits  are  allowed  to  walk  the  earth  again.  • 

Under  this  view  of  the  case,  we  may  well  be- 
lieve that  the  old  man  Pruyter,  knowing  as  he  did 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  superior  jefficacy  of  the  potion  he  had  admipis- 
tered,  when  he  heard  no  remark  from  the  busy 
Maggie,  after  an  early  visit  to  .the  prisoner's  cham- 
ber, and  even  saw  the  relics  of  the  supper,  and 
.discovered  by  ocular  proof  that  not  ordy  the  tea- 
mug,  but  the  water-goblet  was  empty,  attributed 
the  maiden's  escape  from  death  .to  some  supernat- 
ural cause.  To  make  assurance  doubly  sure,  to  use 
a  v.ery  trite  expression,  he  inquired  of  the  unwhole- 
some woman  as  to  her  chargeand  received  her  re- 
port, couched  in  these  words  : — 

"Sure  an'  the  leddy  is  in  the  best  av  spirits,  bad 
luck  til  her,  an'  bloomin'  like  a  rose,  jist,  when  it 
first  peeps  out  i'  the  mornin1,  an'  tuk  her  breakfast 
wid  niver  so  much  as  by  yer  lave,  ma'am,  swate 
bad  luck  til  her  agin,  an'  may  she  mate  wid  some 
fall  that'll  larn  her  to  be  more  civil  til  her  aquals, 
an'  bring  down  her  pride  a  bit;"  which  somewhat 
garrulous  and  spiteful  remarks  were,  no  doubt,  in- 
stigated by  some  slight  or  sarcasm  put  upon  her  by 
the  wayward  Helen. 

How  the  young  lady  could  have  swallowed  « 
dose  of  poison  sufficient  to  have  killed  two  strong 
men,  and  be  "in  the  best  o'  spirits"  ten  hours  after- 
wards, was  surely  much  to  believe,  on  rational 
grounds,  and  in  default  of  other  reason  he  gave  the 
spirits  more  credit  than  perhaps  tlu-v  deserved,  in 
the  matter,  as  do  many  of  the  believers  of  to-day, 
who  ascribe  to  the  same  "airy  nothings"  an  agc-ncv 
in  all  matters  they  cannot  understand,  a  doubled 
load,  from  the  faA,  that  he  who  thus  believes,  is 


136  THE  COUXTERFEITERS. 

usually  remarkably  deficient  in  the  capacity  to  un- 
derstand even  some  very  plain  matters. 

Inauspicious  tidings,  like  misfortunes,  of  which 
they  often  form  a  part,  are  gregarious;  seldom,  if 
ever,  as  the  old  proverb  says  in  regard  to  the  latter, 
coming  singly  ;  and  the  news  of  recent  occurrences 
in  which  the  old  man  Pruyter  was  deeply  interest- 
ed, reaching  his  ears  were  a  good  illustration  of  the 
correctness  of  the  proposition  ;  for,  on  the  heels  of 
the  information  that  his  intended  victim  had  mar- 
velously  escaped  the  fate  that  he  had  meted  out  to 
her,  came  the  intelligence,  from  his  son,  of  the 
partial,  or  implied  success  of  his  suit  with  the  fair 
prisoner ;  closely  followed  by  the  unwelcome  re- 
port from  an  emissary  that  had  been  detached,  for 
the  time  being,  to  worm  into  the  confidence,  and 
betray  the  patriotic  band,  of  which  Captain  Lori- 
mer  was  the  leader.  This  latter  information  was, 
most  disagreeably  spiced  with  the  relation  of  the 
utter  rout  of  the  attacking  force  by  a  single  man, 
and  a  small  one,  at  that,  accompanied  by  the  loss 
of  several  valuable  horses,  equipments,  arms,  etc., 
and  a  vast  amount  of  prestige,  most  valuable  of  all, 
like  him  of  the  story  who  went  for  wool  and  came 
back  shorn. 

To  add  still  farther  to  the  old  villain's  chagrin, 
and  multiply  the  vexation  already  burning  so  fierce- 
ly, about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  came  a  written  message,  by  the  hands  of  a 
youth,  worded  as  follows  : — 

"The  hounds  are  out.   A  doe  in  chase.     D " 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

There  would  not  appear  to  ordinary  mortals,  but 
little  on  which  to  found  a  very  great  amount  of  in- 
telligence, in  this  very  laconic,  but  evidenty,  quite 
important  communication,  from  the  facl:  of  it  being 
forwarded  by  special  messenger ;  but  the  old  man 
seemed  to  understand  its  full  meaning,  for  several 
of  the  men,  in  whom  he  had  the  most  confidence, 
were,  at  once,  put  in  emplov,  in  making  some  ex- 
traordinary, mysterious  and  hurried  preparations, 
in  which  Pruyter,  himself,  took  both  monitorial 
and  manual  participation,  of  which  the  sequel  will 
more  fully  speak. 

"There,  d — n  them,  they  can  come  soon  as  they 
please,"  he  ejaculated,  as  he  wiped  the  perspiration 
from  his  forehead,  after  attaining  his  own  room, 
and  throwing  himself  into  a  chair.  "No  doubt 
some  of  that  Lorimer's  work,  for  who  else  would 
care  a  tinker's  curse  for  the  confounded  girl ;  but, 
as  an  outlaw  he  may  be  shot  down  on  sight,  and 
he  may  run  against  a  bullet,  some  day,  if  not,  and 
poison  and  the  whole  military  authority  of  Canada 
are  harmless  to  them,  we  will  try  what  virtue  can 
be  found  in  cold  steel." 


138  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

AX    OLD    TIME   JUSTICE. 

!>HE  brothers  Lorimer  found  but  little  diffi- 
culty in  arousing  the  hostler  Howard  from 
his  bar-room  bunk,  although  the  night  was 
well  along  when  thev  arrived  at  their  des- 
tination. He  hardly  needed  a  word  of  caution  not 
to  arouse  any  about  the  house.  By  his  advice  and 
with  his  assistance,  the  captured  troop  horses  were 
divested  of  their  trappings,  and  the  saddles,  bridles, 
holsters,  pistols  and  carbines,  together  with  the 
various  pharaphinalia,  were  secreted  carefully,  in 
a  hay-mow,  and  the  animals,  after  due  care,  con- 
signed to  a  back  pasture,  at  some  distance  from 
the  house  and  from  any  traveled  road,  where  plenty 
of  grass  and  water  were  to  be  found,  and  they  were 
not  liable  to  be  discovered,  even  by  those  bent  up- 
on a  pretty  thorough  search.  Hector,  having  com- 
plained of  fatigue,  was  exempted  from  a  participa- 
tion in  this  latter  duty  and  had  been  sleeping  for  a 
couple  of  hours  before  all  these  various  precautions 
were  taken. 

The  first  streaks  of  coming  day  were  painting 
the  eastern  horizon  when  the  Captain  and  How- 
ard entered  the  bar-room  and  drew  near  the  relics 
of  a  fire  upon  the  hearth.  The  curiosity  of  the 
hostler  was  for  some  time  on  the  qui  rive,  which 
the  former,  until  now,  had  failed  to  gratify.  Lor- 
imer had  perceived  this  and,  at  once  proceeded  to 
enlighten  him  upon  the  subject,  to  which  Howard 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  139 

gave  the  meed  of  hearty  laughter,  as  the  story  was 
ended.  Howard  then  informed  his  guest  of  his 
intention  to  proceed,  with  Heath,  to  the  copper 
mines,  having  engaged  himself  the  previous  even- 
ing, to  labor  at  that  place. 

"And  is  that  scoundrel  of  a  Heath  here  yet?" 
asked  the  Captain  ;  "and  still  I  might  have  known 
without  asking,  for  he  had  put  up  his  team  for  the 
night.  He  played  me  a  rascally  trick,  and  I  am 
more  than  two-thirds  of  a  mind  to  horsewhip  him 
for  it." 

"Unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken  he  is  deserving 
of  all  that  your  generosity  would  accord  him,"  re- 
joined Howard;  "but  scoundrels,  as  well  as  bet- 
ter men,  ofttimes  fail  of  getting  their  full  dues  and 
he  is  one  of  the  kind  who  will  worm  out  of  trou- 
ble, I  opine,  if  he  has  sufficient  notice  of  its  com- 
ing, and  his  legs  hold  good." 

Some  further  conversation  was  held,  during  the 
last  of  which  Captain  Lorimer  happening  to  think 
of  the  bracelet,  given  him  bv  the  Scotchman  took 
it  from  his  pocket  and  examining  it,  an  exclama- 
tion of  surprise  was  evidence  that  he  recognized  it 
as  the  one  he  had  presented  to  Helen  Leonard.  If 
there  could  have  been  any  similarity  of  the  work- 
manship with  some  other  to  make  its  identity  ques- 
tionable, the  remarkable  circumstance  of  the  initi- 
als inscribed  thereon  being  similar,  "H.  L.  to  H. 
L.",  would  have  made  the  fact  indisputable.  For 
several  minutes  he  sat  in  a  profound  re  very ;  then 
made  some  farther  inquries  of  Howard,  whence 


140  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

aros.'  some  planning,  which  finally  resulted  in  the 
substitution  of  a  quantity  of  hay  in  the  pretended 
pcdlcr's  cart,  for  what  it  before  contained,  upon 
which  Hector  Lori mer  took  his  place,  with  certain 
instructions,  the  fulfillment  of  which',  to  the  dare- 
devil courage  and  love  of  adventure  of  that  dimin- 
utive gentleman,  offered  a  fill  of  his  desire,  for  by 
that  device  he  was  carried  inside  the  lines  of  the 
counterfeiters;  a  usually  difficult  task  to  accomp- 
lish otherwise,  so  closely  was  every  avenue  guard- 
ed. Lorimer  then  retired,  with  directions  not  to 
be  called  up,  or  his  .name  mentioned,  until  after 
the  departure  of  Heath  in  the  morning.  This,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  duly  accomplished  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  pedler  that  his  load  had  under- 
gone any  material  change,  or  how  near  he  came  to 
receiving  a  well-deserved  castigation  from  the  in- 
censed Captain  ;  for  when  that  individual  had  so 
large  a  fradion  of  a  mind  to  do  a  good  deed,  he 
was  seldom  wanting  the  remainder,  when  the  ob- 
ject of  his  benevolent  intentions  was  sufficiently 
near  to  receive  the  benefit. 

In  accordance  with  an  over-night  plan,  honest 
Dan  was,  during  the  forenoon  of  the  day,  dispatch- 
ed to  Steadville  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the 
needful  papers  and  a  baliff  to  serve  them  ;  it  being 
the  purpose  of  rescuing  the  person,  if  under  undue 
restraint,  to  which  circumstances  seemed  to  point, 
of  Helen  Leonard,  and  place  her  in  such  a  position 
as  her  own  wishes  should  didate,  when  her  liber- 
ty had  been  legally  effected. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  141 

It  was  with  some  degree  of  misgiving  that  our 
landlord  trusted  himself  on  the  polar  side  of  that 
mystic  circle  numbered  "forty-five"  ;  but  with  a 
leg  at  a  side  of  a  stout  chestnut  mare,  in  whose  in- 
telligence, speed  and  endurance  he  had  the  greatest 
confidence,  he  rode  up,  about  ten  o'clock,  in  the 
forenoon,  to  the  door  of  worthy  Justice  D's  office, 
and  after  a  minute  of  reconnoissance,  dismounted, 
threw  the  loop  of  his  bridle  loosely  over  a  post, 
and  entered  the  magisterial  presence.  In  a  corner 
of  the  room,  behind  a  desk,  stood  a  little,  dried-up, 
wrinkled  man,  with  spectacles  on  nose,  engaged 
in  writing;  while,  at  a  side  of  the  apartment  and 
in  an  arm-chair,  softly  cushioned  and  covered  with 
leather,  sat  a  good  specimen  of  Smollett's  Justice 
Frogmore,  as  he  is  delineated  in  the  "Expedition 
of  Humphrey  Clinker."  He  was  tall  and  extreme- 
ly corpulent,  with  heavy  double  chin,  protuberant 
abdomen,  stout  legs  and  a  red  face,  of  which  the 
nose,  as  the  centre  of  the  surface,  seemed  also  the 
spot  on  which  the  greatest  amount  of  color  centred, 
for  it  seemed  to  blush  a  scarlet  at  its  own  promin- 
ence. That  he  was  one  of  Her  Majesty's  Justices 
of  the  Peace  was  as  plain  to  the  most  casual  ob- 
server, when  he  looked  in  his  face  and  beheld  the 
important  expression  there  painted,  as  though  the 
letters  J.  P.  had  been  emblazoned  as  liberally  on 
furniture  and  hangings,  as  was  the  immortal  "Ns" 
on  that  of  the  slightly  conceited  Napoleon. 

"I  have  come,  'Squire  D.,  to  obtain  a  warrant 
for  the  apprehenison  of  a  lady,"  commenced  Dan  ; 


142  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"and  as  the  occasion  is  somewhat  imperative,  I 
would  wish  the  neccessary  papers  prepared  as  soon 
as  possible." 

"Yes,  sir,  certainly,  sir,"  answered  the  Justice. 
"Here  Jenkins,  this  way.  A  lady,  sir?  And  pray 

of  what  has  the  lady  been  guilty,  Mr.  ah,  Mr ?" 

"Morrison  is  my  name.  Daniel  Morrison  of — " 
"Oh,  aye,  Morrissey  of  Hatley,  A  fine  town, 
that  of  Hatley,  a  very  fine  town,  sir,"  said  the  jus- 
tice, with  such  an  airas  would  have  imposed  upon 
anyone  not  so  conversant  with  the  world  as  was 
landlord  Dan.  The  clerk  approaching  at  this  in- 
stant, he  continued  :  "This  is  my  scribe,  sir.  An 

accurate  scribe,  sir;   somewhat  advanced " 

"Shall  we  proceed  to  business  now,  'squire?" 
asked  Dan,  who  was  growing  impatient. 

"Yes,  sir,  certainly  sir,"  replied  the  magistrate, 
motioning  the  clerk  to  a  seat  at  his  own  table.  "A 
young  lady  I  think  you  said,  Mr.,  ah  !  Norrisville. 
What,  sir,  is  the  nature  of  your  complaint  against 
the  young  ladv?" 

"No  complaint  against  the  young  lady,"  replied 
Daniel ;  "she  is  detained  against  her  will,  unjustly 
and  illegally  a  prisoner,  and  we  wish  to  take  her 
from  that  constraint  and  set  her  at  liberty,  by  due 
legal  process." 

"Ah!  False  imprisonment,  Mr.,  ah  !  Horace. 
Take  notice,  Jenkins;  a  precept  for  false  impris- 
onment, against  who,  Mr.,  ah  ! ?" 

"If  I  might  be  allowed,"  interrupted  Dan  ;  "the 
necessary  paper  should  be  a  Habeas  Corpus." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  143 

"Yes,  sir,  certainly,  sir,  said  the  justice;  k'and 
we  are  fortunate,  very  fortunate,  sir,  firstly  in  that 
writ's  having  been  restored,  by  proclamation,  this 
morning  and  in  my  being  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
Court,  Mr.,  ah  !  Morristown.  Against  whom  shall 
the  document  run,  Mr.,  ah  ! ?" 

"Against  William  and  Samuel  Pruyter,  miners, 
of  this  township,  at  or  near  Copper  mountain,  as 
it  has  of  late  been  called." 

"The  messrs  Pruyter  !  Why  sir,  bless  my  stars," 
exclaimed  the  justice,  springing  upright  in  his 
chair,  with  strong  marks  of  trepidation  in  his  face 
and  actions.  "Why,  Mr.,  ah  !  Horatio,  the  mes- 
srs Pruyter  are  my  townsmen,  sir,  and  heavy  men, 
very  heavy  men ;  and  utterly  incapable  of  doing 
any  act  requiring  legal  redress,  Mr—" 

"Nevertheless  they  are  the  men  against  whom 
the  process  should  run,"  rejoined  Dan,  not  a  little 
surprised  to  see  the  magistrate  hesitate,  especially 
when  it  was  well  known  that  no  man  in  Canada 
was  more  fond  of  doing  legal  business. 

"Impossible,  sir!  Utterly  impossible,  Mr.,  ah! 

Molson,"  rather  hoarsely  reiterated  D .  "And 

what  young  lady,  sir,  do  you  claim  they  have  de- 
tained against  her  will,  Mr.,  ah  ! — ?" 

"Miss  Helen  Leonard,  " 

"Miss  Helen  Leonard,  Mr.,  ah!  Nottingham? 
Why,  sir,  Miss  Leonard  is  the  elderly  gentleman, 
Mr  Pruyter's  ward,  and  by  our  laws,  he  has  a  per- 
fect right,  as  her  guardian,  to  detain  her  if  he  con- 
siders proper,  at  any  time,  Mr — ." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS 

"I  apprehend  that  the  fact  can  be  better  tried, 
and  determined  when  both  parties  are  properly  ar- 
rayed in  open  court,  than  at  present,"  a  trifle  hast- 
ily exclaimed  Morrison,  who  began  to  be  slightly 
nettled  at  the  other's  manner  of  proceeding.  k  'All 
that  I  now  demand  is  the  issuance  of  the  proper 
precept  to  bring  such  a  state  of  affairs  into  effect, 
and  that  at  once." 

"The  petition  cannot  be  granted,  Mr.  ah  !  Mor- 
rill,  "sputtered  the  magistrate,  whose  complaisance 
had  undergone  quite  a  change  since  the  conversa- 
tion commenced;  "it  would  be  wrong,  wrong, 
indeed,  to  put  a  man  or  men  of  the  messrs  Prtiy- 
ter's  respectability  and  standing  to  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  a  suit  of  so  triffing  a  nature,  Mr.  ah  ! — " 

"Call  it  Twelve-men-Morris,  and  have  it  done 
with,"  said  Dan,  who  was  getting  disgusted  ;  "you 
have  called  me  every  other  name  possible,  none 
of  which  are  right,  and " 

"I  beg  pardon,  Mr.  ah  !  Montebank,  it  was  quite 
a  mistake,  quite  a  mistake,  sir,  it  was  certainly  not 
my  intention  to  offend." 

"Nor  to  issue  the  warrant,  I  see,"  more  quietly 
rejoined  honest  Dan,  giving  the  magistrate  up.  as 
incorrigible;  "but  I  saw  'squire  Shepard,  driving 
into  his  yard  just  now,  and  shall  apply  to  him,  at 
once  ;"  saying  which  Morrison  replaced  the  hat  he 
had  removed  at  entering,  and  was  turning  toward 
the  door,  when  he  was  arrested  by  the  voice  of  the 
magistrate. 

Now,  Morrrison  had  not  the  remotest  intention 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  145 


of  employing  Esquire  Shepard,  for  the  reason  that 
he  was  well  known  to  that  worthy,  who  being  a 
violent  tory,  and  better  acquainted  with  his  (Dan's) 
operations  in  furnishing  men  and  arms  to  the  reb- 
els, as  he  called  them,  during  the  late  difficulties, 
than  he  would  like  to  have  ventilated  while  he  re- 
mained in  his  present  position  ;  but  he  was  satis- 
fied the  paunchy  justice  would  issue  the  warrant, 
rather  than  should  his  rival  in  office,  whom  he  so 
much  hated,  when  he  made  up  his  mind  that  Dan 
would  not  be  put  off.  Nor  were  his  calculations 
in  fault,  for  the  magistrate  said  : — 

"Wait  a  moment,  if  you  please,  Mr.  ah  !  Mont- 
gomery. My  scribe,  sir,  may  make  out  the  pre- 
cept and  I  will  return  after  having  given  my  gard- 
ener some  instructions,  and  sign  it.  I  have  a  fine 
garden,  sir,  a  very  fine  garden.  Would  you  be 
pleased,  sir,  to  take  a  look  at  it?"  but  seeing  that 
Morrison  seemed  about  to  accept  the  invitation,  he 
continued  ;  "but  you  will  be  needed  to  give  dates, 
names  and  circumstances  to  my  scribe,"  and  bow- 
ing, he  waddled  out. 

Morrison  was  something  at  a  loss  to  understand 
the  very  contradictory  words  and  behavior  of  the 
worthy  J.  P.,  but  seeing  the  nimble  pen  of  the 
clerk  making  rapid  progress  with  the  desired  pa- 
per, he  was  satisfied,  and  more  so,  when,  after  fif- 
teen or  twenty  minutes  D returned  and  affixed 

his  official  sign-manual  to  the  finished  document ; 
not,  it  is  true,  without  some  very  manifest  signs  of 
disquiet  and  reluctance.  This  exhibition,  joined 


146  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

with  the  magistrate's  former  hesitancy,  began  to 
create  some  suspicions  in  the  mind  of  the  tavern- 
keeper,  but  they  assumed  no  particular  shape,  un- 
informed, as  he  was,  of  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween the  men. 

His  errand  done,  as  far  as  the  procurement  of 
the  neccessary  precept  was  concerned,  Dan  was  in 
as  great  a  dialema  as  ever,  for,  from  what  he  had 

noticed  in  Justice  D 's  behavior,  he  dared  not 

trust  to  that  individual's  hands  for  delivery  to  the 
proper  official  for  service  ;  and,  under  all  circum- 
stances, he  was  not  over  anxious  to  meet  any  bai- 
liff", holding  Her  Majesty's  commission,  preferring 
much  to  give  to  that  class  of  gentry  as  wide  a  berth 
as  was  consistent  with  his  well  known  ideas  of  ci- 
vility. While  he  stood  at  a  window  of  the  magis- 
trate's office,  not  without  being  nearly  hidden  by 
the  curtains,  however,  from  the  prying  gaze  of  out- 
siders, endeavoring  to  devise  some  way  of  getting 
the  document  into  the  proper  channel  of  being  le- 
gally and  promptly  executed,  he  perceived  a  young 
man,  mounted  on  a  sorry  steed,  stealing  out  from 
the  magistrate's  barn-yard  and,  with  many  glances 
over  his  shoulder,  take  the  road  towards  the  lake. 
Had  Morrison  been  less  intent  upon  his  knotty 
problem,  the  youth's  manrevres  would  have  called 
his  more  particular  attention  ;  but  as  it  was,  the 
adion,  though  seen  was  not  noticed. 

Belabor  his  brains  as  he  might,  they  seemed  for 
once  to  fail  him,  and  he  would  have  been  compel- 
led, either  to  trust  to  the  old  man,  D ,  or  have 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  147 

boldly  sought  a  bailiff,  and  trusted  to  luck  for  an 
escape,  should  the  functionary  have  any  designs 
upon  his  liberty,  had  he  not,  at  that  instant,  have 
discovered  Mr.  Rogers,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
of  that  much  abused  class  of  individuals,  and  yet 
a  good,  all  around  fellow,  making  his  wav  up  the 
street,  on  the  side-walk,  on  the  opposite  side ;  and 
an  idea  struck  the  puzzled  man.  In  furtherance 
of  this  thought,  he  passed  quickly  out,  mounted 
his  mare,  and  riding  boldly  toward  the  officer,  his 
paper  in  his  hand.  Rogers  recognized  him  at  once, 
and  showed  his  surprise  plainly. 

"Here  is  a  writ,  Mr.  Rogers,  that  I  am  desirous 
should  be  served  immediately,"  said  Morrison,  rid- 
ing to  within  a  few  paces  of  the  surprised  officer, 
with  the  hand  containing  the  document  extended  ; 
when,  either  frightened  by  the  flutter  of  the  paper 
so  near  her  ear,  or  more  likely,  prompted  to  her 
act  by  a  private  touch  of  the  spur,  the  animal  vio- 
lently shied  and,  in  his  haste  to  grasp  the  rein,  the 
writ  was  dropped,  and  fluttered  to  the  ground,  at 
the  other's  feet. 

"Ah,  Dan,  Dan,"  laughed  the  official,  when  he 
saw  and  readily  understood  the  trick  ;  "luckily  the 
military  have  taken  cognizance  of  your  case,  and 
I  have  been  obliged  to  give  up  my  papers,  or  we 
would  have  one  race  for  it  before  you  should  get 
away  from  me  ;  but  as  it  is  have  no  fear  of  me,  for 
the  duty  gone  I  have  no  desire  to  molest  you.  A 
sharp  look  over  your  right  shoulder  is  always  best 
for  men  in  your  situation,  more  especially  when 


148  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

they  are  visiting  in  a  foreign  country  !  I  will  serve 
vour  papers  this  afternoon." 

Prompted  by  the  hint  given  by  the  good  natured 
officer,  Morrison  cast  a  quick  glance  in  the  direct- 
ion indicated  and  saw,  some  forty  rods  away,  a  de- 
tachment of  Captain  Stanfield's  troop  approaching 
at  a  round  pace.  With  a  fervent:  "Thank  you, 
George,"  Dan  shook  the  mare's  rein,  and  she  sped 
away,  over  the  flinty  but  smooth  and  level  road, 
leading  homeward,  at  a  pace  that  soon  distanced 
all  pursuit  and  finally  landed  him  at  his  own  door. 

With  a  good  deal  of  humor  Dan  rehearsed  to 
Captain  Lorimer  his  experience  in  procuring  the 
Habeas  Corpus,  and  the  device  by  which  he  had 
been  enabled  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  bailiff'. 
Herbert  Lorimer  enjoyed  the  relation  hugely,  but 
soon  retired  to  his  room  to  make  arrangements  for 
his  journey ;  for  despite  the  danger,  he  was  deter- 
mined to  be  present  when  the  official  visit  to  the 
Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  that  was  fast  attaining  a 
considerable  interest  in  his  mind,  was  made. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  149 

CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  PROCESS    SERVED. 

)HE  Province  of  Canada,  at  the  time  of  the 
transpiration  of  the  incidents  recorded  in 
these  pages  and,  as  there  has  been  no  ma- 
terial change,  consequently  since,  occupied 
a  very  anomalous  position,  for  several  reasons.  Be- 
ing originally  settled  by  the  French  and  for  nearly 
if  not  quite  a  century,  a  French  colony,  governed 
by  'French  laws,  the  inhabitants  were  but  illy  pre- 
pared to  the  change  that  its  conquest  by  the  arms 
of  Great  Britain,  under  command  of  the  lamented 
Wolfe,  brought  about.  Contrary  to  the  custom  of 
that  arrogant  and  self-conceited  nation,  the  govern- 
ment, in  the  treaty  by  which  that  part  of  its  con- 
quered territory  was  ceded  by  France,  took  some 
notice  of  the  fuel,  and  magnanimously  permitted 
the  common  law  of  the  ceding  power  to  remain  as 
the  code  by  which  those  suddenly  alienated  citizens 
were  to  be  ruled.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  very  good 
stroke  of  policy,  in  England,  to  make  this  conces- 
sion, for  so  bitter  and  long  continued  had  been  the 
several  wars  between  the  two  nations,  that  had  the 
French  inhabitants,  their  rancor  still  not  fully  ap- 
peased, been  not  only  deprived  of  their  nationality 
but  of  their  laws,  also,  they  would  have  left  the 
territory  and  sought  homes  in  more  congenial  lo- 
calities, where  they  would  be  better  governed,  ac- 
cording to  their  opinions  and  wishes. 

The  French  lex    non  scripta,   thus,    by  solemn 


I  c;o  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

treaty  made  the  law  of  the  land,  the  lex  scripta, 
under  no  such  bargain,  was  the  English  statutes, 
which,  like  the  By-Laws  of  the  '•'Temperance  Un- 
ion", engrafted  upon  the  Constitution  of  the  "Ba- 
chanalian  League,"  at  once,  as  may  be  supposed, 
created  such  an  incongruity  of  legal  practice  and 
confusion  of  jurisdiction,  a  farce,  but  turned  the 
comedy  into  a  tragedy  in  many  cases. 

Lying  upon  the  borders  of,  and  its  most  densely 
populated  districts  only  separated  by  an  imaginary 
line  from,  a  country  that  had  once  been  in  a  simil- 
ar state  of  vassalage  to  a  foreign  power,  as  that 
under  which  they  as  yet  winced:  and  who  had 
thrown  off  the  galling  and  ignominious  yoke  by  an 
exertion  of  its  young  strength  ;  and  still  further 
prompted  to  the  feeling  by  many  of  its  own  citi- 
zens who  had  been  residents,  and  had  enjoyed  all 
the  benefits  of  a  free  government,  with  whiclrthe 
most  friendly  and  reciprocal  feelings  and  interests 
were  maintained  ;  it  is  not  surprising  that  Canada 
should  wish  to  be  equally  free  from  the  same  rigid 
task-master,  as  they  deemed  it.  This  hoping  for 
a  change,  this  wishing  to  follow  the  example  of 
their  prosperous  neighbor,  had  finally  broken  out 
in  a  very  weak  and  illy  sustained  insurrection. 

And  here  England  seemed  to  institute  a  more 
incongruous  and  inconsistent  course  of  proceeding, 
than  ever  had  that,  sometimes,  capricious  power 
hitherto  adopted.  At  the  same  time  she  was  put- 
ting down  the  uprising  with  stern  hand,  and  con- 
signing the  leaders  to  banishment  to  Van  Dieman's 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  I  tj  I 

Land  and  Bermuda,  her  own  ministers  were  deba- 
ting the  propriety  of  allowing  the  uneasy  colony 
to  go  whither  it  would.  This  same  debate  has,  of 
late  years,  culminated  in  the  disarming  of  the  forts 
and  strongholds  in  the  Provinces  and  a  notice  that 
they  were  at  liberty  to  take  their  own  course,  and 
go,  or  stay,  as  they  thought  best.  What  then  does 
Canada  do?  Why  simply  as  did  the  Frenchman, 
who  had  his  surplus  cash  deposited  in  a  bank  that 
he  suddenly  conceived  to  be  unsound.  He  asked 
for  his  money,  and  when  it  was  about  to  be  given 
him,  made  the  somewhat  paradoxical  remark:  "If 
you  have  got  him,  I  don't  want  him  :  but  if  you 
no  have  got  him,  I  mus'  have  him  !" 

And  Canada  is  eminently  a  country  of  contrasts 
withal ;  of  great  virtue  and  greater  vice  ;  of  opu- 
lence and  poverty  ;  of  learning  and  ignorance  ;  of 
benevolence  and  a  most  miserly  parsimony;  of  en- 
ergy and  supineness  ;  of  great  plannings  and  small 
executions;  of  clamorous  cackling  and  insignifri- 
cant  eggs ;  of  great  cry  and  little  wool.  By  the 
side  of  the  great,  broad  gauge  Grand  Trunk  Rail- 
way line  crawls  the  Frenchman's  meagre  horse  and 
uncouth  dray  or  springless  cart;  rocking  in  the 
waves  of  her  palatial  steamers,  rides  the  mean  dug- 
out ;  close  in  the  shadow  of  her  monster,  cloud- 
reaching  cathedral,  sits  the  rag-picker's  vermin  in- 
fested hut ;  moored  to  the  piers  of  the  wide-world 
known  Victoria  Bridge,  costing  millions,  swings 
the  muck  freighted,  rotten  barge  with  its  ragged 
crew  ;  within  sound  of  the  bells  of  its  haughtiest 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

churches  lurks  the  thief,  the  burglar,  the  counter- 
feiter and  the  murderer,  and  within  gunshot  dis- 
tance of  her  best  schools,  the  proportion  of  those 
who  can  neither  read  nor  write,  to  those  who  have 
acquired  that  power  is  remarkably  great. 

Not  but  other  countries  show  the  same  strange 
medley  of  opposites,  but  in  a  less  degree,  even 
when  older  and  more  densely  populated  and,  per- 
haps, to  far  less  extremes  than  that  comparatively 
new  territory.  Not  new  in  the  years  of  its  occu- 
pancy, but  primitive  in  knowledge,  and  backward 
in  science,  when  the  mass  is  considered  ;  not  new 
in  age,  but,  at  the  same  time,  not  old  in  the  ways 
of  the  world  and  left  far  behind  other  nations  and 
other  countries  in  the  march  of  progress  and  ad- 
vancement ;  not  all  over  of  a  brightness,  but  like 
that  appearance  of  the  new  moon,  in  which  its 
greater  surface  is  almost  too  dark  to  be  seen,  with 
a  very  narrow  rim  of  brighter  hue,  that  the  igno- 
rant term  "the  new  moon  in  the  old  moon's  arms." 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  ill-nature  prompt- 
ing the  foregoing  remarks,  we  assure  the  reader 
they  may  not  be  attributed  to  any  ebullition  of 
spleen,  or  any  personal  pique  that  the  writer  may 
have  conceived  against  an  otherwise  desirable  coun- 
try ;  for,  where  the  inhabitants  are  unfortunate  in 
resped  to  the  facts  adduced,  they  are  fully  reim- 
nursed  by  a  face  of  territory  not  exceeded  in  beau- 
ty, fertility  and  picturesqueness  by  any  land  upon 
which  the  sun  shines.  These  attractions  are,  it  is 
true,  somewhat  deteriorated  bv  the  severity  of  their 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  1 53 

winters;  while  their  summers,  not  subject  to  the 
sweltering  heat  of  more  southern  climes,  are  bless- 
ed by  that  medium,  temperate  climate  so  much  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  health  and  consequent  longivity 
of  man.  While  the  soil  is  deep  and  fruitful  and 
the  surface  of  the  land  agreeably  diversified  by  hills 
and  dales,  and  the  eyes  are  delightexl  with  a  variety 
of  scenery  unequalled  in  any  portion  of  the  world. 
Long  and  wide  levels  bordered  by  high  and  some- 
times ragged  mountains,  like  pictures  framed  in 
the  rusHc  style  now-a-days  much  affected  ;  mag- 
nificent rivers,  like  ribbons  of  silver  sheen  stretch- 
ed across  the  plains ;  ponds  and  lakes  with  fringe 
of  umbrageous  shade,  like  diamonds  in  emerald 
settings,  and  cascades  of  immense  height,  like 
showers  of  gems  and  pearls,  leaping  from  heaven 
to  earth,  all  contributing  to  an  association  of  beau- 
ties rarely  equalled,  and  never  surpassed  upon  the 
continent  of  America. 

Though  a  much  more  level  country  than  are  the 
states  of  the  Union,  on  which  it  closely  borders, 
the  transition  from  a  mountanous  surface  to  one  of 
plain,  is  not  so  abrupt  as  to  be  disagreeable  to  the 
eyes  of  the  lover  of  fine  scenery  ;  in  fa6t  the  more 
southern  townships,  especially  where  they  join  the 
New  England  states  have,  in  many  instances,  a  di- 
versity of  hill  and  valley,  mountain  and  plain  sup- 
erior in  picluresqueness  to  a  territory  where  either 
predominates  to  the  detriment  of  the  other. 

The  road  in  passing  from  the  higher  level,  on 
which  was  situated  Steadville,  to  the  bottom-lands 


I  CJ4  THE  COUNTERFEITERS.       . 

bordering  the  lake  shore,  descended  quite  a  decliv- 
ity, so  precipitous  that  it  declined  the  more  direct 
course  and  assumed  one  diagonal  to  it,  thus  ren- 
dering the  way  less  steep  and  consequently  more 
easy  of  access.  This  declivity  was  wooded  from 
its  foot  up  the  hill,  and  for  a  few  rods  along  the 
level  of  the  uplands.  Except  where  the  road  ran 
and  the  hand  of  man  had  shorn  it  of  its  roughest 
features,  this  patch  of  woodland  partook  much  of 
the  nature  of  surface  exhibited  by  Copper  mount- 
ain that  it  faced  ;  abounding  in  ravine  and  gully, 
rock  and  ledge,  promiscuously  heaped  in  savage 
confusion,  covered  in  many  places  by  the  decaying 
trunks  of  fallen  trees,  and  its  surface  generally, 
thickly  grown  up  to  underwood  and  bushes.  Any- 
where, except  in  instances,  where  the  giant  trees 
intervened,  from  the  road  a  magnificent  panorama 
of  the  lake,  its  sometimes  level,  sometimes  mount- 
anous  shores ;  the  many  small  islands  dotting  its 
glassy  surface,  like  the  backs  of  sea-green  monsters 
sleeping  in  their  native  element,  with  but  the  spine 
exposed  to  the  upper  air,  could  be  had  ;  while  from 
the  top  of  the  hill,  an  observer  might  command 
several  miles  of  the  there  almost  level  and  direcl: 
road  approaching  the  village. 

Between  the  hours  of  four  and  five,  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  and 
in  a  position  as  regards  the  road  spoken  of,  where 
he  might  see  and  not  be  seen,  just  at  the  foot  of  a 
towering  ledge  of  slate  reck,  might  have  been  seen 
Captain  or  rather,  now  that  his  military  occupation 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  155 

was  gone,  Doctor  Herbert  Lorimer,  seated  on  the 
fallen  boll  of  a  magnificent  hemlock,  whose  inter- 
laced and  soil  filled  roots  interposed  between  him- 
self and  the  highway.  Just  opposite  the  upturned 
tree  a  small  fire  was  burning,  or  rather,  smoking ; 
for,  although  the  weather  was  warm,  too  warm  to 
need  any  artificial  heat,  those  pests  of  our  eastern 
woods,  the  musical  but  bill-presenting  mosquitoes 
were  plenty,  and  only  to  be  kept  at  an  agreeable 
distance  by  a  usmudge",  as  it  is  called.  The  sol- 
itary watcher  was  facing  the  west,  and  from  his 
position  enjoyed  a  perfect  view  of  the  earth  and 
sky  in  that  direction.  The  sun,  like  some  huge 
locomotive  with  glaring  head-light,  was  bowling 
along  the  tramway  of  the  sky  and  fast  nearing  the 
station  known  as  "Sundown";  a  place  often  spoken 
of  as  having  a  "local  habitation  and  a  name",  but 
as  hardly  placed  as  the  end  of  the  rainbow  where 
is  to  be  found  the  pot  of  money  of  many  a  youth- 
ful aspiration.  Across  the  quiet  waters  of  the  in- 
land sea  was  a  golden  pathway,  coming  from  the 
farther  shore,  direclly  toward  the  observer's  eyes, 
as  it  always  does.  A  little  to  the  right  of  his  line 
of  vision  was  the  uncouth  outline  of  the  Copper 
Mountain,  resembling  some  monster  "owl's  head" 
placed  upon  a  lawn  to  add  beauty  by  its  very  gro- 
tesqueness  and  incongruity,  to  an  otherwise  unva- 
ried scene;  over  its  summit  a  hazy,  motionless 
cloud  of  smoke  and,  at  its  base,  the  two  or  three 
pretty,  white  farm-houses,  with  their  accompani- 
ments of  barns  and  other  outbuildings,  and  the  land 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

laid  orT  in  squares  by  the  fences,  almost  as  regu- 
larly as  are  the  divisions  of  a  chess-hoard,  on 
which,  in  place  of  kings,  queens,  bishops  and  their 
companions,  were  cattle,  sheep  and  horses. 

While  the  Doctor  was  enjoying  this  view,  his 
attention  was  called  to  the  road  by  the  clatter  of  a 
horse's  feet  and  he  sqon  saw  his  former  companion- 
in-arms,  the  traitorous  "Son  of  Liberty,"  riding  a 
perfectly  white  horse,  slowly  up  the  steep  road. 
For  an  instant  Lorimer  had  thoughts  of  hailing  the 
fellow  and  there,  without  witnesses,  settling  their 
little  unpleasantness,  by  giving  him  a  thorough 
drubbing,  but  a  sober  second  thought  told  him  bet- 
ter; and  he  commenced  to  surmise  his  errand. — 
Before  the  matter  was  settled  in  his  mind,  a  new 
cause  of  guessing  was  produced  by  the  same  per- 
son returning  at  a  much  increased  pace,  and  now 
carrying  in  his  hand,  which  he  occasionally  waved 
as  if  signalling  some  watcher,  a  white  handker- 
chief. This  was  beyond  Herbert's  finding  out,  at 
the  moment,  but  he  was  inclined  to  guess  much , 
when,  soon  after,  Bailiff  Rogers,  followed  by  two 
attendants,  made  his  appearance,  coming  down  the 
hill  at  a  brisk  pace. 

Lorimer  cast  a  quick  glance  at  the  approaching 
party,  and  then  stepping  into  the  roadway  unhesi- 
tatingly faced  them.  With  considerable  surprise, 
the  three  legal  men  drew  their  reins,  and  Rogers 
exclaimed : — 

"Captain  Lorimer,  if  I  am  not  mistaken  in  the 
build  of  the  man,  though  I .:have  never  seen  him 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  157 

but  once  or  twice  before.  My  loss  in  ocular  pleas- 
ure, however,  has  been  more  than  compensated 
for  by  my  gain  in  auricular  enjoyment,  for  I  haye 
heard  his  merits  and  dements  discussed  at  every 
bar  and  fireside  in  Steadville  County  for  the  last 
two  months  or  more." 

"Captain  Lorimer  no  longer,"  replied  Herbert, 
laughing,  when  he  saw  the  smile  with  which  the 
address  of  the  other  was  accompanied,  "s^ince  the 
company  of  which  I  was  the  chief  was  disbanded 
and  now  plain  Herbert  Lorimer,  or  if  you  like  it 
better,  Doclor,  though  as  much  destitute  of  pa- 
tients as  I  am,  in  my  military  capacity,  of  men." 

"I  have  heard  something  of  this,"  answered  the 
good  natured  bailiff;  "and  am  much  pleased,  for, 
until  this  morning,  I  had  warrants  in  my  possess- 
ion against  several  of  the  insurrectionists,  among 
which  figured  your  name  by  both  titles,  with  ord- 
ers to  arrest  you  on  either,  as  might  be  the  most 
agreeable  to  yourself." 

"Believe  me,  that  before  ten  o'clock  last  night, 
I  should  have  resisted  such  an  effort  in  both  capaci- 
ties ;  as  a  captain  for  fear  of  banishment ;  as  a  doc- 
tor surmising  that  the  somewhat  confined  character 
of  my  future  residence  would  interfere  with  such 
exercise  as  I  think  necessary  in  a  sanitary  point  of 
view." 

"And  to  a  wish  for  for  a  proper  antidote  to  the 
effects  of  a  sedentary  life  am  I  to  attribute  your 
presence,  at  this  time,  in  this  somewhat  dangerous 
and  romantic  situation  ?" 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"If  I  am  rightly  informed/'  replied  Lorimer,  the 
tone  of  banter  he  had,  until  now  used,  changing 
to  one  of  earnestness;  "you  are  proceeding  upon 
a  mission  in  which  I  am  deeply  interested.  If  such 
is  the  case  I  must  beg  of  you  to  tarry  a  few  min- 
utes, as  I  am  in  momentary  expectation  of  the  ar- 
rival of  a  sort  of  spy  that  has  been  in  the. enemy's 
camp  since  morning,  and  is  to  meet  me  here  about 
this  hour,  by  appointment.  My  brother,  Hector 
— perhaps  you  have  heard  of  him — has  instructions 
to  make  a  careful  examination  of  the  surroundings 
and  let  me  know " 

The  speaker  was  interrupted  at  this  point  in  his 
discourse  by  a  smart  blow  on  his  shoulder,  which, 
so  suspicious  is  human  nature,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, he  construed  as  the  tap  of  an  officer's 
hand,  and  he  turned  hastily,  clapping  his  hand  on 
a  concealed  pistol,  only,  however,  to  perceive  his 
dwarfish  brother,  grinning  at  his  back,  where  he 
had  alighted,  after  dropping  from  the  heavy  foliage 
of  a  tree,  beneath  which  they  stood,  upon  Herbert's 
shoulder  and  thence  to  the  ground. 

"Let  him  know  !"  exclaimed  the  childish  voice  ; 
"yes,  and  unless  his  wits  are  sharper  than  is  his 
hearing,  it  will  take  pounding  enough  to  thrash  a 
bushel  of  oats,  to  force  into  that  overgrown  head 
of  his  an  amount  of  knowledge  sufficient  to  supply 
his  daily  necessities." 

"Why,  Hedtor,  how  came  you  among  the  bran- 
ches of  that  tree,  so  opportunely?  I  have  watched 
for  your  coming  for  over  an  hour." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  159 

k'I  came  into  the  tree  the  same  as  the  squirrel 
got  his  dinner,  climbed  for  it.  Coming  up  at  the 
moment  that  I  saw  a  couple  of  young  men  holding 
a  kind  of  mutual  admiration  meeting,  like  a  dog 
and  cat  that  some  superior  power  had  deprived  of 
teeth  and  claws,  attributing  their  forbearance  to 
good  nature,  when  want  of  weapons  was  the  real 
virtue ;  and  noticing  that  one  of  the  parties  was 
one  of  those  who  had  acquired  the  disagreeable 
habit  of  grabbing  a  fellow  that  has  been  up  to  anv 
mischief,  I  took  to  the  tree  as  a  sort  of  stronghold 
against  any  efforts  of  that  nature." 

"  'A  guilty  conscience  needs  no  accuser',  is  an 
old  saying  and  a  true  one,"  laughed  his  brother. 
"But  how  came  it  that  I  did  not  see  you  coming 
across  the  flat,  when  I  watched  so  closely  that  a 
rabbit  could  scarcely  have  escaped  my  notice?" 

"And  do  you  imagine  that  because  your  great, 
hulking  carcase  could  no  more  pass  from  Copper 
Mountain  to  this  place,  without  being  seen,  than 
could  a  load  of  hay,  that  an  individual  of  medium 
size,  like  mvself,  must  therefore  be  in  plain  sight? 
And  there  were  certain  watchful  eyes  at  the  outlet 
of  the  passes  of  Copper  Mountain,  as  well  as  a 
perambulating  Canadian  rebel,  mounted  like  Death 
on  a  pale  horse,  who  would  have  been  glad  to  make 
my  acquaintance.  I  am  not  so  near  the  build  of 
mankind  in  general,  to  be  found  skulking  around 
their  haunts,  without  some  questions  asked,  did 
they  get  near  enough  to  me  to  hook  me  with  an 
interrogation  point." 


l6o  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

''Well,  what  luck  in  the  commission  1  gave  you 
to  execute,  this  morning?"  asked  the  big  brother, 
when  the  laugh  of  the  party  had  ceased. 

"Luck  to  escape  with  a  well  pounded  carcase, 
in  that  old  thunder-trap  of  a  pedler's  cart,  and  a 
bruised  shin,  climbing  down  the  rocks,  because  I 
could  not  get  away  by  the  usual  route,  on  account 
of  the  sentinels  posted  at  those  points  that  prevent 
travel  on  that  line." 

"•What  is  that  you  say,  youngster?"  asked  Rog- 
ers. "Have  they  posted  sentinels  on  the  roads?" 

"Not  such  a  mighty  sight  younger  than  yourself, 
either,  master  Catchpole,"  retorted  He&or,  who 
could  not  be  more  easily  offended  than  by  being 
considered,  or  mentioned  as  being  a  boy,  which  his 
size  led  many  strangers  to  believe  to  be  the  case. 
"Yes,  sentinels,  well  armed  and  on  the  alert,  like 
a  trained  terrier  at  a  rat-hole,  and  not  quite  so  dull 
as  was  Alick  Cameron  once,  when  he  bade  the 
Captain,  there,  to  say  'Liberty',  or  he  could  not 
pass.  Why  the  old  Stone  House  in  the  Pass  is  a 
regular  garison." 

"What  other  discoveries  did  you  make?"  asked 
Herbert,  who  was  getting  anxious  to  proceed  on 
the  quest.  "Did  you  see  anything  of  Miss  Helen 
Leonard  in  the  house?" 

••Not  having  an  opportunity  of  entering  the  dom- 
icile, I  had  not  the  pleasure ;  but,  while  partaking 
a  slight  mid-day  repast  in  the  shape  of  cold  water 
(I  forgot  to  carry  my  dinner  with  me),  I  saw  the 
young  lady  looking  out  from  a  grated  window,  in 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS.  164 

the  gable  end,  and  afterwards  trying  the  strength 
of  the  bars  to  ascertain,  no  doubt,  whether  charms 
of  beauty  would  have  as  much  effect  on  cold  iron, 
as  :hcy  manifestly  have  had  on  the  heart  of  my  big 
brother,  there,  or  he  would  not  be  rantum-scooting 
around  such  an  infernal  hole  as  old  Pruyter's  den 
in  the  mountain,  yonder,  in  hopes  of  taking  hi.s 
lady  love  away  from  a  more  favored  rival,  the  fair 
and  seductive  Samuel." 

A  quick  flush  overspread  the  manly  features  of 
the  doctor  as  he  turned  to  Rogers,  and  said  : — 

"The  fa6t  of  the  young  la.ly  :)eing  there  and  in 
an  illegal  confinement  being  established,  nothing 
further  need  delay  your  duty.  That  my  feelings 
are  considerably  enlisted  in  this  cause,  you  may 
have  discovered  from  the  chatter  of  this  saucy  bov, 
and,  if  not  contrary  to  the  law,  and  against  your 
inclinations,  I  would  be  pleased  to  accompany  you 
on  your  mission,  merely  as  a  looker-on." 

bailiff*  n.Klding  a  cheerful  assent  to  the  pro- 
.  and  the  indispensable  Logan  being  led  from 
ills  concealment,  the  party  now  set  forward,  Hector 
left,  lor  certain    reasons,  to    mount  a  horse, 
L-cl    to  hit;  present  position  for  his  use,  and  return 
to  the  hospitable  doors  of  Dan  .Morrison,  wh./v  [je 
might  compensate  himself  for  his  long    fast  by  re- 
galing himself  upon  the    excellent  cookery  of  that 
vet  famous,  hostelry. 

The  world's  locomotive,  with  the  glaring  head- 
light that  poets  and  penny-a-liners  have  long  since 
named  "The  Glorious  orb  of  Day,"  was  already 


,6.7  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

entering  the  station  last  on  its  road,  that  of  the  be- 
fore mentioned  Sundown,  as  the  cavalcade  entered 
the  mouth  of  the  pass  leading  to  the  stone  house. 
No  sooner  had  their  horses'  hoofs  struck  the  flinty 
pathway  than  the  melancholy  hoot  of  an  owl  rang 
from  a  position  among  the  crags  almost  immedi- 
ately overhead.  It  being  somewhat  early  for  that 
solemn  bird,  and  something  about  it  not  exactly 
natural,  the  cheat  was  at  once  detected,  but  care- 
less of  all  warnings  and  notices  of  approach,  the 
doctor  and  Rogers  merely  exchanged  glances  and 
smiles  of  meaning  and  rode  on  into  the  fast  gath- 
ering gloom  of  the  ravine.  At  several  points  on 
their  route  the  same  oivL  or,  perhaps,  a  relative  or 
companion  of  the  first,  gave  warning  note  of  every 
step  they  made. 

"There,"  remarked  Rogers  as  another  hoot  fell 
on  his  ear;  "that  is  the  sixth  owl  I  have  heard  in 
thrice  as  many  rods  and  they  say  this  is  no  verv 
great  place  for  owls  either,  especially  before  dark." 

"They  certainly  do  seem  to  be  overdoing  the 
hooting  business,"  rejoined  Lorimer  ;  "but  it  is  ev- 
idently a  signal  to  announce  our  coming  for,  just 
before  you  arrived  at  my  waiting-place,  I  saw  a 
scout  who  was  apparently  on  the  watch  for  your 
arrival.  How  they  knew  of  it  is  quite  a  mystery, 
even  if  such  is  the  case,  if  not,  there  is  something 
suspicious  in  so  close  an  espionage  as  they  seem 
to  have  instituted." 

The  lights,  now  rendered  necessary  within  doors 
by  the  coming  of  night  and  the  shadowy  position 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  163 

in  which  the  building  sat,  were  plainly  discerna- 
ble  from  its  windows,  and  riding  up  to  the  door, 
they  dismounted  and  leaving  their  animals  in  the 
charge  of  one  of  the  attendants,  approached  and 
loudly  knocked  upon  the  portal,  beyond  which 
could  be  heard  the  hum  of  conversation  mingled 
with  an  occasional  laugh.  If  the  outside  of  the 
building  had  shown  unusual  alertness  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  intruders  presence,  the  interior,  if  the 
countenances  of  the  inmates  could  be  taken  for  in- 
dications, exhibited  surprise  far  from  unreal.  The 
elder  Pruyter,  who  had  admitted  them,  had  appa- 
rently been  engaged  in  the  perusal  of  a  book,  for 
a  well  bound  volume  was  turned  with  its  printing 
downward  on  a  sort  of  sideboard.  Atone  end  of 
the  apartment,  near  a  small  table,  on  which  were 
many  chemicals,  sat  the  "•gentlemanly  stranger," 
busily  engaged  in  testing  certain  minerals  close  at 
hand  :  at  a  large  lightstand  were  four  young  men, 
playing  a  game  of  euchre,  a  play  with  cards  then 
but  recently  introduced  in  that  vicinity,  and  near 
one  side  sat  William  Howard  and  Samuel  Pruyter, 
deeply  intent  upon  a  match  at  checkers.  In  the 
otherwise  unoccupied  space  was  spread  a  long  ta- 
ble with  the  paraphernalia  of  supper,  around  which 
hovered  the  slatternly  Irish  woman,  Maggie  O'- 
Brien, adding  the  last  touches  to  its  completion. 

Had  Helen  Leonard  entered  with  the  newcom- 
ers, she  would  undoubtedly  have  shown  more  sur- 
prise than  did  any  of  the  others,  for  it  was  into  this 
same  room  that  she  had  taken  that  fatal  look  on  the 


l6l  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

night  ever  to  be  remembered  in  her  lite.  But  the 
forge-fire,  the  printing  press  and  the  huge  mach- 
ines for  stamping  coin,  with  all  their  accompani- 
ments were  gone.  The  monster  engines,  weighing 
several  tons — so  ponderous  that  the  power  of  many- 
horses  would  have  been  required  to  transport  them, 
had  disappeared  if,  indeed  they  had  ever  been  there 
at  all.  The  strong  shutters  to  the  windows,  bound 
and  clamped  with  many  an  endwise  and  transverse 
iron  bar,  were  there,  it  is  true,  but  flung  widely 
open  as  if  they  had  never  been  closed  to  conceal 
from  sight  deeds  as  dark  as  those  she  thought  she 
then  had  witnessed. 

Of  course,  when  Lorimer  and  his  companions 
entered,  the  party  present  all  turned  to  view  the 
intruders,  and  surprise  was  plainly  marked  on  ev- 
ery feature;  especially  did  the  face  of  the  old  man 
exhibit  that  sensation  when  he  courteously  enough 
addressed  them. 

"Good  evening,  gentlemen.  Will  you  please  to 
walk  in?  We  a/2  somewhat  cluttered  here,  but 
yuu  will  find  seats." 

"I  am    here  on  a  painful   errand,  Mr.  Pru . 
said  Bailiff  Rogers,  bowing    his    thanks  as   he  ac- 
cepted the  other's  hospitality.      "We  execu; 
the  law  have   many    such,  and  I  must    crave   your 
pardon  on  the  score  of  duty." 

"And  what  may  be  the  nature  of  your  commis- 
sion?" asked  the  old  man  blandly.      ••  Whatever  it 
may  be,  rest  assured  you  will   meet  with  no 
ance  on  the  part  of  me  or  mine." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  165 

"I  have  a  warrant,"  he  replied,  rising,  at  the 
same  time  and  producing  the  document,  "•com- 
manding me  to  take  the  body  of  one  Helen  Leon- 
ard whom,  it  is  claimed,  is  held  bv  you  in  illegal 
imprisonment  and  against  her  will." 

"What,  my  ward,  Miss  Leonard?"  exclaimed 
Pruyter,  with  an  unimpeachable  start  of  surprise. 
"Assuredly  there  must  be  some  mistake  here,  Mr. 
Bailiff.  Some  due  constraint,  it  is  true,  I  have  ex- 
ercised, for  a  few  days  past,  for  the  late  and  unex- 
pected death  of  her  almost  idolized  mother,  my 
much  mourned  wife,  some  little  time  back,  had 
temporarily  disturbed  her  reason  ;  so  much  so  as 
to  induce  her  to  stray  away  from  her  home.  But 
that  being  past,  I,  this  morning,  consented  to  her 
often  repeated  request  to  be  sent  back  to  school  in 
Montreal  ;  and  about  daylight  one  of  my  men  took 
her  in  a  boat  to  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  where  she 
would  take  the  stage  for  the  city.  The  man  has 
not  yet  returned,  in  fa6t  it  is  hardly  time,  but  I  an- 
ticipate no  trouble,  for  the  day  has  been  fine  and 
the  lake  as  smooth  as  a  mirror." 

At  this  moment  a  rough  looking  Frenchman  en- 
tered the  apartment,  bearing  upon  his  shoulder  a 
pair  of  oars  that  had  evidently  lately  been  in  the 
water,  for  they  were  hardly  yet  dry  ;  also  carrying 
on  his  arm  a  coarse  coat. 

"Ah,  Peter,  just  in  time,"  said  the  old  man,  as 
he  turned  to  the  newcomer;  "and  what  luck  have 
you  had  to-day?  All  right,  hey?" 

"I  haf  vera  good    luck,"  replied   the   boatman; 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Mam'selle  take  de— vat  you  call  him— stage,  all 
right.  I  haf  seen  her  in  de— stage,  all  right ;  hut 
I  haf  got  vera  much  fatigue." 

"No  doubt,  no  doubt,  Peter,  but  Maggie  has  got 
something  in  the  cupboard  that  will  rest  you,  if  I 
am  not  mistaken  ;"  then  turning  to  the  bailiff',  he 
continued  :  "You  see  that  there  must  be  some  mis- 
take and  your  warrant  inoperative." 

•'Certainly,  certainly,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  replied  the 
bailiff,  refolding  the  paper,  as  if  disposed  to  leave. 
"I  am  sorry  to  have  troubled  you,  and  allow  me  to 

bid  vou  a " 

"Allow  me  to  suggest."  here  broke  in  Lorimer, 
"that  vour  duty  is  to  make  a  search  of  this  dwell- 
ing. You  are  so  commanded  in  the  precept,  if  1 
mistake  not." 

"That  is  true,  doctor,  if  you  insist." 
"I  do  not  insist.     I  only  suggest  as  a  friend." 
In  spite  of  the  thorough  schooling  that  the  feat- 
ures of  the  old  man  had  undergone   during  a  long 
course  of  crime  and  duplicity,  he  could  not  forbear 
a  glance  of  anger  at   the  fine  face    of  the  speaker, 
whom  he    had  at  once    recognized  and  had,  as  he 
imagined,  cause  to  fear;   but,  as    that  individual's 
eyes  sought  his  own  face,  the  glance  instantly  van- 
ished and  a    look    of  mild    reproach    assumed   its 
place,  as  he  somewhat  hastily  exclaimed  : — 
"Do  you  doubt  my  word,  Mr.  Bailiff"?" 
"Not  in  the  least,  sir,  not  in  the  least;   but  as   I 
am  commanded  so  I  must  do." 

••Very  well.      Shall  I  accompany  you?" 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  167 

••It"  vou  please." 

The  old  man  took  a  lamp  and  followed  by  the 
officer,  Lorimer  and  the  other  attendant,  they  en- 
tered every  apartment  iYi  the  building  except  one, 
which,  when  Herbert  perceived  was  the  one  look- 
ing out  from  the  grated  window  in  the  gable ;  the 
one  in  which  his  brother  had  told  him  the  lady  was, 
he  said  : — 

"•There  appears  to  be  one  room   yon  have  failed 
to  open  to  our  inspection,  the  one  at  our  left." 
"That  is  my  lumber  room,  Mr. — excuse  me — 
"Doctor  Lorimer,  Mr.  Printer, "  interrupted  the 
bai lift'  hastily. 

"As  I  was  about  to  say,  Dr.  Lorimer.  that  is 
my  lumber  room  and  if  yon  have  any  desire  to  ex- 
amine my  pieces  of  broken  furniture,  refuse  min- 
ing tools  and  other  traps,  you  are  most  welcome  so 
to  do  ;"  and  he,  flung  open  the  door. 

Herbert  Lorimer  was  thunderstruck.  lie  would 
trust  his  life  on  Hector's  truthfulness  and  wager 
his  very  existence  on  his  intelligence;  but  despite 
all  the  room  was  as  the  old  man  had  said,  partially 
tilled  with  broken  furniture,  several  handlcless 
picks,  a  dozen  or  more  fractured  drills  and  crow- 
bars, several  boards  and  pieces  of  joice,  all  covered 
with  the  dust  of  months  if  not  of  years.  No  bed 
or  bed  clothing,  no  usable  chairs,  table  or  sink  was 
there  and  the  searchers  turned  away,  not  satisfied, 
but  compelled  to  be  content.  Another  glance  of 
bitter  hatred,  mingled  with  a  smile  of  triumph, 
overshot  the  lowering  face  of  the  old  man  as  they 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

descended  the  stairs,  directed  at  the  doctor,  but  it 
was  unseen  by  that  individual,  so  deeply  were  his 
senses  wrapped  in  his  own  painful  meditations. 

Gaining  the  main  apartment  Mr.  Pruyter  civilly 
asked  them  to  tarry  to  supper,  an  invitation  which 
they  as  civilly  declined  ;  and  again  apologizing  for 
the  trouble  they  had  been  obliged  to  put  them  to, 
and  bidding  them  a  general  "Good  Night,"  the 
disappointed  officer  and  his  more  disappointed  as- 
sociate were  soon  mounted  and  riding  down  the 
glen,  but  unaccompanied,  as  was  their  ascent,  by 
the  hooting  of  the  owlish  serenaders. 

During  Lorimer's  solitary  ride  toward  Morrison's 
tavern,  after  parting  with  Rogers  and  his  assistants, 
he  was  the  prey  of  many  and  of  various  emotions. 
That  Hector  had  deceived  him  or  had  himselfbeen 
deceived  in  the  matter,  he  did  not  believe,  and  that 
Helen  Leonard  had  been  in  the  room  in  the  gable, 
with  the  grated  window,  he  did  believe.  How, 
then,  about  the  accumulation  of  old  furniture,  etc. 
and  the  dust  of  time,  so  plentifully  spread  upon  its 
contents,  so  lately  occupied  by  the  maiden?  He 
did  not  pinch  himself,  as  others  are  said  to  have 
done,  to  ascertain  if  he  was  awake,  but  taking  it 
for  granted  that  he  did  not  dream,  he  continued  to 
meditate  without  arriving  at  any  conclusion,  but 
that  he  would  investigate  the  matter  to  its  bottom, 
until  the  cheerful  lights  of  Dan  Morrison's  house 
of  entertainment  for  man  and  beast,  but  not  for  in- 
sects, as  some  hotels  are,  came  upon  his  gratified 
eyes,  through  the  shades  of  night. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  169 

•^^^-^^-^-^-^-^-^V^-s--- *_, *~-s^-X^~^-v. <^>^~^-**^^-*^^^^^~^^ 

CHAPTER  X. 

HECTOR     IN     HIS    ELEMENT. 

,APTAIN  STANFIELD  was  decidedly  a 
proud  man.  He  was  proud  of  his  posi- 
tion, proud  of  his  command,  proud  of  his 
authority,  proud  of  his  cause,  and  proud 
of  his  knowledge  as  a  military  man.  This  was  no 
peculiarity  of  his  own,  when  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  others  of  the  officers  of  the  British  army 
in  Canada.  But  there  was  one  fate  that  had  apper- 
tained to  him  that  had  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  his 
brother  comrades-in-arms  ;  and  this  was  that  he, 
alone  of  the  aforesaid  army  had  suffered  a  defeat. 
Not  in  person,  nor  to  his  whole  troop  had  come  the 
disaster.  This  knowledge  alone  was  a  hitter  ex- 
perience to  him,  the  more  so  when  he  considered 
the  insignifficance  of  his  conquering  adversary,  as 
was  that  of  the  man  that  was  kicked,  though  not 
badly  injured,  and  mourned  the  more  sincerely  be- 
cause he  had  been  struck  by  the  foot  of  a  mule ; 
whereas  he  could  have  endured  his  hurt  with  much 
more  equanimity  could  he  have  been  prostrated  in 
the  same  manner  by  a  good  horse. 

The  doughty  Captain  might,  perhaps,  have  en- 
dured all  this  were  nothing  added  ;  but  there  were 
plenty  of  his  associates  in  Steadville  who,  when 
the  story  had  leaked  out,  took  occasion  to  rally  him 
upon  the  subject.  Now  ridicule  is  the  worst  kind 
of  assault  a  proud  man  can  experience,  and  while 
he  chafed  and  fumed  under  their  generally  good 


THE  COI'NTEKFKITKUS. 

nature;!  sarcasm,  when  the  hulies  of  his  acquaint- 
ance named  his  company  the  "Ourang  Outang 
Fencibles,"  it  wr.s  the  last  drop  to  the  overflow  of 
his  surplus  bile  and  he  swore  in  his  heart  a  terrible 
revenge.  Learning  very  readily  that  not  only  the 
vanquisher  of  his  squad  of  troopers,  but  that  Cap- 
tain Lorimer  and  Dan  Morrison,  against  both  of 
whom  he  held  warrants,  were  residing  together  but 
a  few  miles  across  the  line,  with  that  contempt  for 
neutral  rights  that  the  Englrsh  have  many  times 
manifested,  he  resolved  upon  a  brilliant  coup-de- 
main  ;  no  less  than  to  send  a  squad  of  troopers  on 
some  night,  capture  the  obnoxious  trio  an  1,  at  the 
same  time,  if  possible,  retake  his  lost  horses.. 

The  Ensign  of  Captain  Stanfield's  company  was 
a  voting  sprig  of  nobility,  a  younger  brother  :  an 
insufferable  popinjay  and  conceited  coxcomb,  but, 
naturally  brave  and  intelligent  when  his  overween- 
ing vanity  gave  him  time  for  those  qualities.  To 
this  young  officer,  scarcely  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
and  six  picked  dragoons  Captain  Stantield  entrust- 
ed the  execution  of  this  plan.  Nor  did  he  allow 
his  subaltern  to  depart  on  his  mission  without  full 
and  repeated  instructions  as  to  his  behavior  going, 
there  and  returning,  together  with  many  a  caution 
about  disturbing  any  others  than  the  parties  to  be 
apprehended.  The  fourth  night  from  the  one  of 
the  disaster  was  fixed  upon  for  the  effort,  as  the 
moon  would  not  rise  until  about  the  time  of  their 
arrival  at  their  destination. 

Now  this  grand  ruse  de  guerre   would,  without 


THE  COUNTKRFKITKRS. 

doubt  have  met  with  all  the  success  the  worthy 
captain's  most  sanguine  expectations  could  antici- 
pate were  the  parties  who  were  most  interested  in 
its  accomplishment  uninformed  or  made  no  resist- 
ance. But,  alas,  "The  best  laid  plans  of  mice  and 
men  oft'  gang  agley  ;"  for  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  preceding  the  eventful  night, 
a  letter  signed  "A  Friend,"  and  detailing  the  whole 
plot,  was  handed  to  honest  Dan.  After  a  length- 
ened discussion  between  Morrison  and  IIec~lor  Lor- 
imer — the  doctor  being  absent — to  which  the  vola- 
tile Elsie  was  invited,  they  made  certain  prepara- 
tions, the  nature  of  which  will  be  the  more  fully 
disclosed  in  the  sequel,  and  the  quiet  tavern  by  the 
roadside  assumed  its  usual  silence. 

About  half  past  nine  o'clock  on  that  night,  law- 
yer Roberts,  after  having  regaled  the  customers  of 
the  house  and  the  quiet  Elsie  with  the  result  of  his 
studies  during  the  day,  and  himself  with  the  girl's 
more  than  usually  appreciative  smiles,  and  finally 
as  a  clincher,  with  an  encouraging  drink  of  Dan's 
brandy,  left  the  house  on  his  return  to  his  home. 

His  meditations  were  extremely  pleasant  for  he 
had  several  causes  of  self  congratulation.  Two  or 
three  rustics  had  gaped  with  wonder  at  his  erudi- 
tion, during  the  evening;  the  Captain,  of  whom 
he  was  beginning  to  get  jealous,  was  away  for  an 
indeffinite  period  ;  the  time  for  his  Boston  trip  was 
fast  approaching;  Elsie  had  smiled  bewitchingly, 
and  the  brandy  was  exhilarating.  Either  of  these, 
singly,  were  enough  to  make  him  happy,  but  when 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

thev  were  all  combined,  the  conglomeration  pro- 
duced such  an  extatic  state  of  enjoyment  that  his 
feelings  found  vent  in  song.  Several  echoes,  how- 
ever, that  came  to  his  ears  were  slightly  startling, 
and  his  notes  suddenly  ceased,  when,  as  his  own 
noise  died  awav  he  became  conscious  that  other 
sounds  were  being  made,  and  he  soon  discovered 
that  several  horsemen  were  nearing  him. 

As  heretofore  intimated  in  these  veracious  chron- 
icles, the  pedantic  lawyer  was  a  timid  man,  conse- 
quently when  he  made  the  discovery  that  others 
were  abroad  as  well  as  himself,  and  of  whose  in- 
tentions, peaceful  or  otherwise,  he  was  not  aware, 
a  debate  arose  in  his  mind  whether  or  not  to  screen 
himself  among  the  bushes  through  which  he,  at 
the  time,  happened  to  be  passing.  Pride  and  Cu- 
riosity undertook  the  negative,  while  Caution  and 
Timidity  as  stubbornly  maintained  the  other  side 
of  the  question.  Before  Reason,  the  deciding  of- 
ficer of  this  debating  club  had  rendered  judgement 
in  the  case,  all  prudential  motives  were  done  away 
by  the  arrival  of  seven  well  mounted  men  who  en- 
tirely blocked  up  the  passage. 

''Where  away,  my  night-walking  son  of  song 
and  nocturnal  disciple  of  the  muses?"  exclaimed  a 
voice  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  the  leading  horse- 
man and  evidently  addressed  to  the  puzzled  way- 
farer at  the  roadside. 

The  riders  were  dressed  in  citizen's  clothes,  but 
certain  trappings  of  their  animals,  the  military  or- 
der in  which  the  men  followed  their  leader,  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  173 

the  peculiar  deference  which  they  all  paid  to  that 
individual  and  his  motions,  that  even  the  gloom  of 
the  night  could  not  wholly  conceal,  gave  Roberts 
to  understand  that  they  were  not  exactly  what  they 
pretended  to  be.  Being  naturally  a  quick  observ- 
er, he  made  a  very  good  guess  as  to  their  identity 
and  purpose.  All  these  matters  he  had  taken  in, 
and  his  conclusion  arrived  at,  before  he  answered 
the  somewhat  bombastic  challenge. 

"I  am  a  peaceful  citizen  of  the  state,  taking  an 
evening  walk  for  exercise  and  recreation." 

"And  may  I  inquire  whether  there  is  a  certain 
inn,  hotel,  tavern  or  house  of  entertainment  in  the 
vicinity  of  your  rambles,  kept  or  presided  over  by 
one  Daniel  or  Dan  Morrison  ?"  asked  the  voice. 
"If  my  information  a  few  miles  back  was  correct, 
we  must  be  near  it  at  the  present  moment." 

"There  is  a  Public  House  owned  and  managed 
by  the  person  you  have  named  but  a  few  rods  back," 
replied  Roberts  who,  so  similar  was  the  stranger's 
style  of  speech  to  his  own,  was  a  little  inclined  to 
imagine  that  he  was  being  victimized  by  a  mimic  ; 
but  seeing  that  such  must  be  impossible,  he  con- 
tinued :  "It  is  a  very  reputable  hostelry  and  the 
landlord  quite  popular  with  this  vicinage." 

"May  I  further  inquire  whether  the  proprietor 
of  the  institution  in  question  is  at  present  at  his 
post  of  duty  ?" 

"He  was  there  but  a  few  moments  since." 

"Has  he  boarding,  residing  or  lodging  with  him 
now,  or  has  he  lately  had  in  any  other  capacity,  a 


174  '''HE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

certain  Dr.  Herbert  Lorimer  and  his  brother,  an 
undersized  stripling?" 

The  opportunity  of  dealing  the  absent  physician 
an  effective  blow  was  too  inviting  to  be  resisted, 
prompted  as  he  was  by  the  green-eyed  monster, 
and  he  replied  : — 

"Doctor  Lorimer  is  now  in  Canada,  on  his  way, 
if  he  has  not  already  arrived  there,  to  Montreal. 
He,  for  some  reason  best  known  to  himself,  is  in 
disguise ;  having  the  simulated  appearance  of  a 
quite  corpulent  old  gentleman,  wearing  a  drab  col- 
ored coat,  a  white  hat  and  a  pair  of  green  specta- 
cles. He  would  very  readily  be  recognized  by  a 
shrewd  observer  by  these  peculiarities  of  dress  and 
his  self-conceited  swagger." 

An  expression  of  satisfaction,  hidden  by  the 
gloom  passed  over  the  Ensign's  countenance  at  the 
intelligence,  but  he  gave  no  audible  voice  to  it,  as 
he  asked  : — 

"And  Hector,  the  dwarfish. brother?" 

"He  was  in  the  apartment  denominated  the  bar- 
room, in  such  establishments,  when  I  left." 

"Good  night,  then,  and  many  thanks  for  your 
courteous  information,"  now  said  the  subaltern,  as 
he  rode  forward,  followed  by  his  men. 

"Good  evening  and  good  luck,  Ensign  Mellen," 
replied  Roberts,  who  had  recognized  the  man. 

The  person  named  looked  hastily  back  over  his 
shoulder,  in  surprise,  when  thus  addressed  ;  but 
the-  night  shadow  already  had  hidden  the  speaker's 
form  from  view  ;  and  uttering  an  exclamation  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  175 

impatience,  the  officer  rode  on,  and  soon  descried 
the  lights  of  the  building  he  sought.  As  he  neared 
his  destination  his  quick  eye  took  in  all  the  surroun- 
dings, the  house,  the  barns,  the  sign,  the  watering 
trough  and  near  it  the  body  of  an  old  cart,  lean- 
ing against  the  fence.  All  was  quiet  and  peaceful 
around  the  old  tavern,  and  even  the  solitary  lamp 
in  the  bar-room  shed  an  apparently  harmless  light 
through  the  quiescent  windows;  nor  was  there  a 
sign  of  a  living  creature  around  the  establishment. 
Riding  to  the  verandah,  the  officer  dismounted, 
passed  the  bridle  of  his  steed  to  one  of  his  men, 
with  an  order  that  they  remain  in  their  present  po- 
sition until  further  orders,  and  entered  the  unfast- 
ened door. 

Not  a  person  was  in  the  room,  save  a  rather  more 
than  medinm  sized  young  damsel,  apparently  some 
nineteen  or  twenty  years  of  age,  who  was  industri- 
ously sewing.  She  had  a  pleasing  face,  a  healthy 
complexion,  except  a  few  not  unbecoming  freckles, 
a  splendid  head  of  auburn  hair,  eyes  that  were  ha- 
zel, deep  and  full  of  latent  fire,  while  in  the  nose 
and  mouth  there  were  deposits  of  fun  and  mischief 
that  only  required  some  draft  of  opportunity  to  dis- 
burse to  a  liberal  amount.  She  looked  up,  when 
the  young  man  entered,  and  her  lip  slightly  curled 
when  she  had  taken  note  of  his  appearance. 

"Most  resplendent  Hebe,  without  the  original's 
awkwardness,  and  fair  dispenser  of  neclarian  jui- 
ces," began  the  young,  would-be  exquisite,  imag- 
•  ning  that  he  was  addressing  some  well-looking  but 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

.x-^-^^-^ -~^- -^- ~ •>- 

unsophisticated  rustic  ;  "I  bow,  in  all  reverence,  to 
your  multiplicity  of  charms." 

"Take  off  your  hat  and  duck  your  head,  then," 
replied  Elsie  ;  "that  is  the  style  I  was  instructed  to 
assume,  when  I  attended  school ;  that  is,  all  but  the 
hat  part." 

"Upon  my  soul,  an  emerald  wit,"  said  the  young 
man,  a  little  disconcerted  at  the  ready  reply.  "1 
am  in  quest  of  Mr.  Daniel  Morrison,  who  is  your 
father,  I  presume." 

"You  will  have  a  darkling  hunt,  then,  for  he  is 
in  search  of  a  strayed  cow,"  replied  the  girl ;  "but 
what  is  your  business  with  him  ?  May  not  I  do  as 
well?  I  often  serve  customers  in  his  absence." 

"Impossible  that  those  fair  hands  should  be  con- 
taminated by  contact  with  aught  so  vile.  I  would 
have  some  brandy,  if  he  has  any  that  is  good." 

"No  contamination  I  assure  you.  I  once  hem- 
med, for  him,  a  dandy's  pocket  handkerchief.  He 
had  not  touched  it  himself,  however,  only  to  bring 
it,  securely  wrapped  in  paper,  from  the  store,"  and 
Elsie  deftly  placed  a  decanter,  a  bowl  of  sugar  and 
a  tumbler  on  the  bar  in  front  of  the  officer. 

"Upon  my  honor,  young  lady,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  you  are  laughing  at  me,"  exclaimed  the  be- 
wildered coxcomb,  gazing  in  unaffected  surprise 
into  the  smiling  face  before  him. 

"Not  at  all,  sir,"  retorted  Elsie  ;  "your  fulsome- 
adulations  are  too  disgusting  to  produce  mirth  and 
much  less  any  exhibition  of  it." 

The  Ensign  was   thunderstruck.      In  all  his  life 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


he  had  never  met  a  live  yankee  girl  before,  and 
there  was  in  this  specimen  something  he  could  not 
understand.  With  the  self-satisfied  smirk  that  had 
all  along  been  on  his  features  now  entirely  gone,  he 
addressed  himself  to  the  business  in  hand.  Being 
denied  the  opportunity  of  playing  the  fool,  he  had 
time  to  exercise  his  better  qualities,  and  he  said  : — 

"I  had  desired  a  larger  quantity;  but  let  that 
pass.  Have  you  boarding  here  a  voting  man  by  the 
name  of  Hector  Lorimer  ?  He  is  a  friend  of  mine, 
and  I  should  be  pleased  to  see  him,  if  possible." 

"Yes,  sir,  he  is  with  us  now." 

"Is  he  in?" 

"Yes,  in  his  bed." 

"In  what  room,  if  you   please?"  asked    Meller.. 

"In  his  bedroom."  Elsie  had  not  entirely  re- 
covered her  good  temper. 

"And  in  what  number  may  that  be?" 

"Only  one.  He  sleeps  in  only  one  bed  and  one 
room  at  a  time,  since  with  us." 

"On  which  side  of  the  house    is  his  chamber?" 

"On  the  inside."     Elsie  was  vexed  yet. 

"Upon  my  honor,  you  must  excuse  me,"  ejacu- 
lated the  Ensign,  whose  breath  had  nearly  beer 
taken  away  by  the  prompt  answers  of  the  younfK 
lady  ;  "but  your  wit  seems  not  only  mistimed  but 
misplaced.  I  have  often  heard  it  said  that  a  civil 
question  deserves  a  civil  answer." 

"Excuse  me"  retorted  the  girl ;  "a  civil  answer 
to  a  civil  question  depends  very  much  upon  cir- 
cumstances. The  thief  who  asks  me  where  I  keep 


178  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

my  jewels,  can  hardly  expert  an  answer  couched 
in  the  civilist  of  terms ;  nor  does  a  British  officer, 
on  the  free  soil  of  the  United  States,  enquring  for 
persons  whom  he  would  apprehend,  and  transport 
to  a  foreign  prison,  there  to  be  confined  until  such 
time  as  a  prejudiced  judge  and  a  packed  jury  see 
fit  to  sentence  them  to  death  or  transportation,  par- 
ticularly deserve  very  courteous  treatment,  especi- 
ally when  he  comes  with  a  lie  on  his  lips." 

What  answer  the  balked  subaltern  would  have 
given  to  this  spirited  harangue  is  not  recorded,  for 
whatever  he  would  have  answered  was  prevented 
or  drowned  by  a  most  unusual  hubbub  and  clamor 
among  his  waiting  men. 

"'Old  on,  there."  "Vot  the  devil  are  ye  'bout, 
there?"  "'Ello,  quit,  will  ye?"  "'Ow  cussed  'ot." 
"I  say,  stop  it,"  in  as  many  different  %-oices  as  there 
were  different  expressions,  came  welling  in  at  the 
half-closed  window ;  some  in  anger,  some  in  pain 
and  some  in  a  laughable  mixture  of  both. 

Ensign  Mellen  sprang  to  the  door,  which  he  flung 
widely  open  and  beheld  his  squad  in  most  inextri- 
cable confusion,  their  horses  bounding  hither  and 
yon,  spurning  the  control  of  the  riders,  and  show- 
ing plain  indications  of  bolting  and  making  a  pre- 
cipitate retreat  on  their  own  hook. 

"What  does  this  mean,  boys?"  sternly  queried 
the  officer,  as  he  sprang  among  them  and  seized 
his  own  charger  by  the  bridle  rein.  "This  is  hut 
poor  discipline  in  regular  English  troopers.  Fall 
into  line  at  once,  and  silence,  every  man.  Corporal 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  179 


Smith  advance  and  report!"    And  he  mounted  his 
horse  and  faced  them. 

With  muh  ado  the  uneasy  horses  were    brought 
into  line  and  at  the  young  officer's  order  the  corpo- 
ral pricked  his  unwtiing  animal  forward,  gave  the 
salute  as  well  as    he  could  when    both  hands  were 
required  for  governing  his  four-footed  companion. 
"Somebody  'as   been  a-throwin'  'ot  water  honto 
us,  an'  the  'orses,  an'  the  hanimals  is  restless,  sir." 
"Hot  water  !     And  where  from  ?"  he  demanded. 
"We  don't  know,  sir.   It  come  all  of  a  suddent, 
like,  an'  from  someveres   in  the  dark." 

At  this  moment  was  heard  the  heavy  tramp  of 
disciplined  soldiery  advancing  down  the  road,  and 
then  came  the  short,  soldierly  command  : — 

"Halt!  Front!  Ready!  Aim  !"  and  then  came 
the  ominous,  clicking  sound  of  many  cocking 
muskets. 

"Squad,  left  into  line,  Wheel!"  exclaimed  the 
Ensign,  and  there  was  a  metalic  ring  in  his  voice 
far  different  from  the  aflecled,  lisping  tones  he  us- 
ually used,  that  told  whoever  opposed  him  that  he 
was  the  wrong  man  with  whom  to  trifle  when  bat- 
tle was  imminent.  The  men  were  somewhat  un- 
easy, but  there  was  no  disposition  to  retreat.  They 
would  have  sat  in  their  saddles  and  been  shot  down 
without  a  murmur.  But  they  knew,  as  well  as  did 
their  chief  that  they  were  in  an  unauthorized  pos- 
ition ;  that  they  were  not  in  their  line  of  duty  and 
that  no  honor  was  to  be  gained  in  dying  in  such 
a  cause  and  in  such  an  undertaking. 


I  So  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  all  they  thought  was  to 
obey  orders,  and  obey  them  literally.  Thus  they 
awaited  some  movement  of  the  other  party,  when, 
directly  upon  the  rumps  of  the  already  smarting 
horses,  descended  a  hissing  flood  of  scalding  wa- 
ter. Equine  nature  could  not  endure  this  second 
baptism  ;  and  despite  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  men, 
with  snorts  of  pain,  the  blistered  suffering  madden- 
ed animals  broke  away  from  all  constraint  and  ran 
franticly  down  the  hill. 

Then  came  from  the  darkness  Dan  Morrison, 
with  the  beetle  he  had  used  to  simulate  the  march- 
ing men  and  the  woodsaw,  with  which  he  had  re- 
sembled the  cocking  of  muskets,  and  from  behind 
the  cart  body  appeared  Hector  Lorimer,  leaving 
his  small  garden  engine,  with  which  the  shower  of 
hot  water  had  been  so  bountifully  supplied. 

Hearty  laughter  from  the  two  originators  and 
executors  of  this  stratagem,  pealed  down  the  dark- 
some road  after  the  discomfitted  troopers,  then  a 
shrill,  treble  voice  fell  on  their  ears,  singing  the  re- 
frain of  that  once  popular  song,  slightly  altered  to 
suit  the  occasion  : — 

"Vouv'e  got  too  far  from  Canada, 
Run,  bovs  run  !" 

To  say  that  Ensign  Mellen  wa.s  "hopping  mad" 
would  be  putting  it  mildly;  but  language  fails  to 
adequately  expi  e»  the  feelings  of  the  really  excel- 
lent Captain  Stanfield,  as  he  witnessed  the  return 
of  a  second  squad  of  his  troop,  defeated,  as  he  sur- 
mised, rightly,  by  the  same  insignificant  toe. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  l8l 


CHAPTER  XL 

MERITED     PROMOTION. 

URING  the  week  following  the  visit  of 
Roberts  and  his  companions  to  the  Stone 
House  in  the  Pass,  that  failed  to  accomp- 
lish the  end  intended,  our  handsome  friend 
whilom  hostler,  by  a  strict  attention  to  his  duty  and 
a  willingness  to  make  himself  useful,  had  been  giv- 
en in  charge  of  one  of  the  numerous  shafts.  Be- 
ing strictly  temperate  in  his  appetites,  and  never 
becoming  influenced  by  liquor,  he  was  employed 
in  charging  and  discharging  the  blasts  that  were 
required  to  loosen  the  else  unyielding  rock,  and  by 
his  trustworthiness  and  care  enabled  the  men  en- 
gaged with  him  not  only  to  accomplish  more,  but 
to  pursue  their  labors  with  greater  coniidence  and 
safety. than  had  been  the  case  formerly,  when  less 
reliable  men  handled  that  touchv  and  uncertain  ser- 
vant, gunpowder. 

He  had  not  been  initiated  into  the  real  secrets  of 
the  establishment,  and  necessarily  had  taken  his 
meals  and  lodged  at  the  farmhouse  where  those  of 
the  workmen  who  were  in  the  same  situation  made 
their  home.  On  the  night  when  Lorimer  made  the 
above  mentioned  visit,  he  was,  in  a  measure,  sur- 
prised to  be  invited  to  take  supper  and  pass  the  ev- 
ening in  the  stone  house ;  nor  had  all  the  transact- 
ions of  the  afternoon  and  evening  passed  without 
his  notice.  He  was  indeed  astounded  when  upon 
entering  the  house  he  made  no  discoveries  of  tools 


1 82  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

or  machinery  for  the  purpose  he  supposed  he  knew 
was  carried  on  there.  Like  the  rest  he  turned  as 
the  bailiff  entered,  but  recognizing  the  doctor,  he 
so  arranged  himself  as  regards  the  light,  that  that 
individual  failed  to  see,  or  at  least  to  distinguish 
him  ;  a  thing  he  would  have  been  liable  to  do,  un- 
der other  circumstances.  The  evening  passed,  he 
returned  to  his  usual  abiding  place ;  nor  was  he 
again  admitted  within  the  mysterious  precincts. 

Some  three  or  four  days  after  this  affair,  he  was 
engaged  with  others  in  settling  the  shaft,  in  which 
he  labored,  to  a  lower  level  and  in  furtherance  of 
this  design  had  put  a  larger  and  deeper  hole  than 
usual,  expiring' great  results  from  its  discharge. 
There  were  two  or  three  drifts  running  from  the 
main  shaft  with  angles  and  obstructions  sufficient, 
when  the  fact  is  known  that  powder  has  its  effects 
upward,  to  present  secure  retreats  for  himself  and 
the  men  when  the  blast  was  fired.  The  entrance 
to  this  particular  part  of  the  mine  was  some  forty 
teet  above,  ami  access  was  gained  by  means  of  a 
tub  to  which  was  attached  a  chain,  passing  around 
a  windlass  on  the  level  ground  at  the  surface.  This 
elevator  was  used,  when  not  occupied  by  ascend- 
ing or  descending  human  freight,  in  transferring 
the  ore  to  the  mouth  of  the  mine. 

When  Howard  charged  the  blast,  he  had  taken 
care  that  the  man  managing  the  hoisting  apparatus 
should  iv  warned  of  his  intention,  especially  as  he 
was  operating  diredtly  under  it.  The  powder  put 
m.  the  fuse  carefully  adjusted,  the  powdered  brick 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  183 

tamped  deftly  down  and  all  in.  readiness  he  applied 
the  match  and  hastily  retired  to  his  shelter.  As  he 
attained  his  retreat  he  happened  to  glance  upward 
and,  to  his  horror,  he  saw  the  tub  scarcely  twenty 
feet  above  the  hissing  slow-match  ;  and  worse  than 
all,  he  saw  the  heads  of  two  persons,  over  the  edge, 
and  one  of  them,  his  employer.  In  that  position, 
when  the  terrible  charge  of  pent  up  destruction  was 
discharged,  it  was  not  only  an  instant  and  terrible 
death,  but  almost  annihilation,  for  their  bodies 
would  be  blown  into  thousands  of  pieces.  The  im- 
periled men  had  apparently  just  discovered  their 
danger  and  were  making  desperate  but  unavailing 
efforts  to  signal  the  man  at  the  windlass,  to  again 
hoist  them  out  of  the  way  of  the  explosion.  For 
a  single  instant  Howard  stood  motionless  with  the 
whole  horror  of  the  situation  full  upon  him.  He 
saw  the  terrified  faces  of  the.  doomed  men  looking 
down  as  fascinated  at  their  fate  ;  he  heard. the  hiss- 
ing of  the  burning  fuse:  a  whole  lifetime  Bashed 
through  his  mind,  and  he  already  saw  himself,  not 
an  intended  taker  of  life,  yet  a  homicide. 

He  murmured  one  name — the  name  of  one  he 
loved — glanced  at  the  smoking  match,  and  with  a 
bound  like  the  ricochett  of  a  shell,  he  alighted  di- 
rectly over  the  death  burdened  cavity  and  with  ner- 
vous but  lightning  like  fingers,  lie  seized  the  fuse, 
now  burned  to  within  a  single  half-inch  of  the  rock 
and  twisted  off  the  strands  of  the  tarred  twine,  and 
the  men  were  saved.  They  knew  it  too,  and  knew 
who  had  saved  them,  for  at  the  same  instant  that 


184  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  fire  was  smothered,  they  landed  close  beside  the 
brave  fellow  who  stood,  pale  and  gfddy,  it  is  true, 
but  smiling,  on  the  field  he  had  won  over  death,  at 
a  cost  of  more  courage  and  hardihood  than  is  re- 
quired in  a  lifetime  of  pitched  battles. 

The  reckless  and  forgetful  man  who  had  so  near- 
ly caused  a  fatal  disaster  had,  at  last,  noticed  the 
signal  and  the  uncouth  car  was  already  beginning 
to  ascend.  Pruyter  spoke  not  a  word,  nor  did  his 
companion;  nor  did  the  hero,  William  Howard. 
The  car  crept  slowly  up  and  was  finally  drawn  out 
of  the  watcher's  sight.  He  attached  a  piece  of 
fuse  to  the  short  remaining  piece,  fired  it,  retired, 
and  then  came  the  deafening  detonation.  The  sol- 
id rock  was  heaved  up  in  huge  masses  and  hund- 
reds of  detached  fragments  were  hurled  fiercely  up 
the  shaft,  and  the  astonished  man  at  the  mouth  saw 
many  thrown  even  out  upon  the  ground,  as  has 
been  said,  forty  feet  above  the  spot  whence  they 
came.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  handsome  hostler's 
devoted  courage,  one  villain,  at  least,  would  have 
met  his  deserts. 

That  night,  when  it  was  time  to  quit  his  labor, 
Howard,  while  making  his  way  homeward,  was 
accosted  by  Pruyter,  who  was  seated  upon  a  huge 
block  of  ore  near  which  he  would  pass. 

"Young  man,  you  to-day  have  saved  my  life. 
In  making  you  this  tender  I  make  it  not  in  payment 
of  the  debt  I  owe  you,  nor  as  any  recompence  or 
acknowledgement  of  the  more  than  human  courage 
displayed  by  you  in  the  a6l,  but  more  as  a  pledge 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  185 

that  William  Pruyter  is  ever  ready  to  reward  zeal 
and  merit  in  liis  service;"  and  he  held  out  a  bank 
note  for  Five  Hundred  dollars. 

Howard,  casting  a  hasty  glance  at  the  bill,  said  : 
"As  much  as  I  need  and  desire  money,  Mr.  Pruy- 
ter, I  cannot  accept  it  for  performing  an  acl  that 
was  plainly  my  duty.  My  own  hand  had  brought 
the  danger  upon  you,  unwittingly,  it  is  true,  and  in 
tearing  off  the  fuse  I  not  only  did  a  duty  that  plain- 
ly devolved  upon  me,  but  saved  myself  the  horrors 
of  memory  that  must  have  ever  been  mine,  had  I 
ensured  my  own  safety  at  the  expense  of  both  of 
your  lives." 

"Yet  I  insist  upon  your  receiving  the  money," 
continued  the  old  man,  still  extending  the  note,  in 
his  hand.  "I  often  make  presc'nts  to  my  men.  not 
only  for  deeds  of  humanity  or  care  for  my  interests, 
but  for  an  extra  amount  of  diligence  in  their  labor. 
As  I  said  before,  it  is  not  intended  as  a  vemunera- 
tion  for  the  danger  you  incurred  in  saving  our  lives, 
but  as  a  slight  testimonial  of  my  appreciation  of 
your  bravery  and  manliness  in  the  act." 

UI  don't  object  so  much,  Mr.  Pruyter,  to  receiv- 
ing a  present,  as  to  the  amount  of  it,  and  — 

"Why,  young  man — Mr.  Howard,  I  believe  is 
your  name — " 

•'Yes,  sir,  William  Howard,"  he  replied. 

"Well,  as  I  was  saying,  Mr.  Howard,  I  have 
been  prospered  in  my  undertakings  and  without  in- 
tending any  ostentation,  I  must  say  that  this  note, 
large  as  it  may  seem,  I  can  as  well  present  to  you 


1 86  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

as  could  many  a  man,  the  same  number  of  cents ; 
and  I  shall  scarcely  miss  it  in  rnv  abundance,"  and 
notwithstanding  the  old  man's  assurance  to  the 
contrary,  there  were  many  indications  of  pride  pic- 
tured on  his  usually  repulsive  features  as  he  spoke. 

"To  impart  a  secret,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  said  How- 
ard, "and  one  that  can  scarcely  interest  a  man  of 
your  years,  I  must  inform  you  that  I  am  a  poor  man 
else  1  had  not  been  laboring  here  with  my  hands. 
I  have  very  liberal  wages,  it  is  true,  but  it  seems  a 
long  time,  when  looked  forward  to,  when  I  have 
acquired  sufficient  to  enable  me  to  settle  down  in 
life  as  I  could  wish.  To  receive  your  gratuity,  for 
in  no  other  light  can  I  consider  it,  while  it  advan- 
ces that  much  desired  consumation,  it  would  place 
me  under  a  load  of  obligation  that  I  should  be  ex- 
tremely loth  to  encumber  myself  with,  at  this  age. 
If  I  could  make  a  compromise  with  you  and  render 
you  some  service,  or  impart  some  secret,  that  you 
should  consider  as  worth  the  money,  I  should  have 
no  objection  to  receiving  the  bill  in  payment." 

"And  what  service,  pray,  young  man,"  asked 
the  old  man,  "can  you  render,  deserving  a  better 
price  than  the  one  you  have  given  to  me  this  dav? 
What  more  valuable  treasure  can  a  man  have  than 
his  life,  when  he  loves  it?  Without  that  all  other 
treasures  become  useless  and  valueless  to  him  ;  and 
what  secret  can  you  impart  to  me,  a  comparative 
stranger,  that  would  be  of  any  avail?  No,  no.  Mr. 
Howard,  you  have  amply  earned  a  larger  sum,  and 
I  would  have  you  accept  this  as  earnest." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  187 

"I  have  several  secrets,  nevertheless,  Mr.  Pruy- 
ter,"  answered  Howard,  intently  watching  his  col- 
oquist's  face  as  he  spoke  ;  "several  secrets  of  great 
importance  to  you,  in  your  business " 

"In  my  business,  sir?"  asked  Pruyter,  darting  a 
keen  glance  from  under  his  heavy,  overhanging 
brows  at  the  young  man  and  clasping  spasmodical- 
ly, at  the  same  time,  the  rustling  bank  note  in  his 
hand.  "What  know  you  of  my  business,  other 
than  that  of  mining,  sir?"  when  noticing  that,  in 
his  haste,  he  had  made  a  blunder,  a  thing  the  well 
trained  and  cool  headed  villain  was  seldom  guilty 
of,  he  more  quietly  resumed  :  "Hardlv,  hardly,  Mr. 
Howard.  I  have  been  educated,  since  childhood, 
not  only  theoretically  but  practically,  in  mineralo- 
gy, chemistry  and  geology  ;  and  pride  myself  on 
being  as  near  perfect  in  them  all  as  frail  man  can 
be  made  to  be,  with  what  light  the  world  to-day 
possesses  on  those  somewhat  abstruse  sciences." 

"I  have  reference,  sir,"  replied  Howard,  boldly, 
•'to  your  other  branch  of  business " 

"Sir!" 

"To  your  other  branch  of  business,  Mr.  Pruyter, 
that  being  once  suspected  by  an  observant  man,  his 
suspicions  would  be  assured,  not  only  by  the  oath 
that  all  are  required  to  take  who  labor  here,  which 
would  seem  needless  were  the  pursuits  here  strictly 
legitimate,  but  by  the  mysteries  of  that  house  and 
the  stringent  rules  and  regulations  requiring  no  one 
to  leave  the  premises,  under  any  circumstances, 
whatever,  either  with  permission  or  without." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

William  Howard  was  on  dangerous  ground.  He 
was  treading  where  many  a  treacherous  trap  and 
pitfall  were  around  his  feet ;  where  a  certain  knowl- 
edge was,  if  not  death,  very  unsafe ;  and  he  read 
it  in  the  eyes  of  his  employer  as  well  as  in  every 
motion  of  his  features.  But  William  Howard  was 
a  man  who  did  not  avoid  such  paths  for  such  rea- 
sons, and  he  continued  in  his  course  as  he  resumed, 

"I  have  no  desire  to  make  anything  of  my  knowl- 
edge, rather  to  further  your  efforts  and  make  more 
successful  a  business  that  is  already  thriving,  and 
receive  in  exchange  an  equitable  compensation  for 
my  secret." 

"And  what — what,  sir — is  the  business-that  you 
have,  in  your  great  wisdom,  attributed  tome?" 
and  the  old  villain  fairly  choked  in  his  wrath  and 
apprehension. 

"The  business  of  counterfeiting,  sir." 

For  at  least  a  minute  Pruyter  made  no  reply  and 
such  an  expression  flashed  over  his  features  as  the 
devil  might  be  proud  of.  Then  his  face  resumed  a 
harsh,  cold,  menacing  look  as  he  asked  : — 

"Do  you  know,  William  Howard,  that  a  knowl- 
edge of  .the  secret  you  have  just  imparted  is  dan- 
gerous ;  that  we  are  reckless  men,  and  value  our 
lives  and  liberties  and  our  business  secrets  as  high- 
ly as  can  any  ;  that  our  lives  and  liberties  are  alrea- 
dy forfeit,  and  that  to  preserve  them  by  the  putting 
to  death  of  one  who  has  the  power  of  exposing 
us,  we  make  the  penalty  no  greater?  A  man  is 
hung  as  high  on  a  gallows  for  murdering  one  mar; 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  189 

as  though  his  hands  were  imbrued  in  the  blood  of 
thousands,  and  the  penalty  is  equal  in  both  cases; 
a  single  death." 

"Of  all  this  I  am  fully  aware,"  replied  Howard, 
not  a  muscle  moving;  "and  had  I  feared  the  con- 
sequences, I  would  scarcely  have  revealed  my  in- 
formation to  vou,  but  have  fled  with  the  secret. — 
Listen,  for  a  moment.  I  am  by  trade  and  experi- 
ence an  expert  steel  and  copper-plate  printer,  and 
have  printed  thousands  of  bank  notes — genuine 
ones — and  in  my  avocation  have  discovered  a  pro- 
cess of  cleaning  the  plate  of  its  superfluous  ink,  in 
such  a  manner  that  a  comparatively  poor  engraving 
gives  a  better  impression,  and  a  good  one  is  much 
improved  ;  the  lines  rendered  smoother  and  clear- 
er and  better  defined.  For  this  secret  mv  emplov- 
ers  would  not  pav  me  mv  price  and  it  is  known  but 
to  myself." 

"Is  this  true?"  inquired  old  Pruvter,  interested, 
at  once  in  the  young  man's  disclosure. 

"As  is  the  gospel,  Mr.  Pruvter.  I  still  further 
know  a  comparatively  costless  ingredient  to  add  to 
antimonv,  zinc  and  lead,  that  not  onlv  improves 
the  ring  but  does  away  with  the  greasy  feeling  of 
the  metal  for  counterfeit  silver  and  is  cquallv  as  ef- 
ficacious in  amalgam  for  gold  coin." 

"Can  this  be  so?" 

"You  have  but  to  try  it  to  convince  vourself  be- 
yond dispute,"  replied  Howard,  who  saw  his  ad- 
vantage. "But  more  than  all,  Mr.  Pruvter.  I  can 
make  a  red  ink  that  will  strike  through  the  paper 


10.0  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

and  show  distinctly  on  the  other  side.  This  ink, 
I  know  will  be  of  immense  value  to  you,  as- 1  find 
you  have  failed  to  discover  any  such  process,  upon 
examination  of  your  bills." 

"If  this  is  all  as  you  state  it,  young  man,"  said 
Pruyter,  fully  convinced,  "I  will  admit  you  have 
arts  worth  far  more  to  me  than  the  amount  I  have 
offered.  Here,  take  this,  and  when  I  am  in  poss- 
ession of  the  others,  vou  shall  be  recompensed  in 
such  a  manner  that  you  shall  admit  that  William 
Pruyter  is  a  man  who  is  willing  to  pay  and  amply 
pav  for  all  favors  bestowed  upon  him.  The  three 
secrets  I  will  allow  are  the  very  ones  I  have  sought 
most  faithfully  for  and  have  yet  failed  to  procure 
them.  And,  young  man,  I  beg  your  pardon  for 
my  hasty  words,  just  now." 

"I  appreciate  your  feelings,  Mr.  Pruyter,  and 
require  no  apologies,"  said  Howard,  taking  the 
banknote  and  depositing  it  in  his  pocketbook,  -'and 
trust  that  you  will  consider  this  money  well  earned. 
At  what  time  will  you  be  ready  to  receive  the  in- 
structions— and  where?" 

"To-morrow  evening,  at  the  house,"  answered 
Pruyter;  "and,  in  the  meantime,  you  will  be  re- 
lieved from  your  services  in  the  mines.  Your  wa- 
ges will  be  raised  from  this  time  and  a  room  will 
be  prepared  for  your  use  in  this  building.  Many 
of  the  stridest  rules  in  your  communications  with 
outsiders  will  be  removed  ;  for,  being  one  of  us, 
our  safety  becomes  yours,  and  self-preservation  will 
pit  nipt  you  to  maintain  our  secret  as  vour  own." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Of  course,  sir,  1  shall  take  every  means  to  pre- 
serve the  organization  from  exposure,  for  money  is 
my  object,  honestly  obtained,  if  possible,  but  at  any 
rate,  money,"  replied  Howard.  -'I  shall  not  fail 
to  meet  you  at  the  time  appointed  ;  and  please  ac- 
cept my  thanks  for  your  many  kindnesses." 

Strange  that  a  man  of  William  Howard's  ability 
and  penetration  should  fail  to  see  through  the  mask 
of  hypocrisy  that  had  been,  so  plainly,  before  his 
eyes,  in  so  many  of  the  moods  of  its  possessor,  and 
so  long;  but,  alas!  love  is,  if  not  blind,  very  blind- 
ing, not  only  to  the  merits  or  demerits  of  its  ob- 
ject, but  to  all  others  especially  when  the  commu- 
nications with  them  are  ever  so  far,  but  in  any  way 
connected  with  the  attainment  of  that  object.  To 
tell  the  truth  the  affection  that  young  Howard  had 
conceived  for  the  sprightly  and  quick-witted  Elsie 
Morrison  was,  tho'  of  short  .duration,  sincere  and 
unaffected,  and  prompted  him  to  acts  that  perhaps 
he  otherwise  would  not  have  been  guilty  of.  But 
to  obtain  an  amount  of  property  sufficient  to  war- 
rant a  matrimonial  union  with  her,  seemed  to  be 
his  main  objedt ;  though,  as  we  have  seen,  in  his 
conversation  with  Pruyter,  he  was  unwilling  to  at- 
tain it  as  a  gratuity,  showing,  at  least  some  manly 
feelings  left  in  the  bosom  of  another  man,  fast  go- 
ing to  the  bad. 

Some  of  these  feelings  no  doubt  passed  through 
the  young  man's  mind  after  he  had  parted  from  his 
employer,  and  made  his  way  down  the  road  lead- 
ing to  the  farm-house,  for  he  muttered  uneasily  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

manv  an  expression  of  pain  and  apprehension  ran 
over  his  handsome  and  expressive  features.  And 
well  might  he  exhibit  those  indications,  for  he  was 
taking  an  important  step,  a  step  from  comparative 
honesty  and  innocence  to  a  life  of  crime,  with  all 
its  concomitants  of  fear  of  detection  and  punish- 
ment, and  certainty  of  self-abasement,  self-degra- 
dation and  the  prickings  of  a  remorseful  and  accu- 
sing conscience ;  purchasing  short  blisses  at  the 
expense  of  long  woes  to  succeed. 

Crossing  the  little  bridge  a  few  rods  from  where 
the  ravine  debouched  into  the  plain,  and  pausing 
at  its  farther  extremity,  to  gaze  for  a  few  moments 
into  the  now  shrunken  stream,  making  its  way  over 
the  shining  pebbles  forming  its  bed,  he  muttered  a 
few  more  words,  in  a  tone  too  low  for  even  the  ear 
of  a  novelist  to  catch,  the  cloud  on  his  brow  slowly 
passed  away  and  left  the  full  sunshine  of  his  mas- 
culine beauty  unshadowed. 

Bounding  lightly  over  a  fence  by  the  roadside, 
instead  of  approaching  the  house,  he  made  his  way 
across  the  meadow,  nearly  parallel  with  the  lake- 
shore,  toward  a  clump  of  bushes  some  quarter-of- 
a-mile  away,  whistling  as  he  went,  until  the  shad- 
ows hid  his  form,  when  he  turned  sharply  to  the 
left  and  approached  the  highway,  that  there  passed, 
being  at  a  point  beyond  the  house. 

But  a  few  moments  elapsed  before  his  ears  were 
saluted  by  the  sound  of  an  approaching  carriage. 
He  hastily  ensconced  himself  behind  a  thicket  of 
underbrush,  whence  he  very  quicklv,  however. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  10.3 

again  emerged,  when  he  recognized,  in  the  occu- 
pants of  the  approachiug  vehicle  persons  he  was, 
no  doubt,  expecting.  In  the  light,  open  buggy, 
drawn  by  Dan  Morrison's  best  horse,  sat  I  lector 
Lorimer,  somewhat  unsteady  in  his  seat,  from  the 
fact  that  his  feet  barely  touched  the  floor,  holding 
the  reins  with  all  the  pomposity  of  a  trained  coach- 
man, and  seated  at  his  side  one  the  waiting  man 
would  rather  see  than  any  one,  the  laughing  Elsie 
Morrison  ;  she  for  whose  sake  he  was  about  to  take 
the  important  and  decisive  step. 

It  was  the  pleasurable  task  of  but  an  instant  to 
assist  her  from  the  carriage,  and  an  equally  speedy 
one  to  clasp  her  in  his  arms  and,  notwithstanding 
the  presence  of  a  grinning  and  mischievous  witness 
to  plant  a  kiss  on  the  lips  that  were  so  temptingly 
upturned  to  meet  it. 

Having  seen  so  much  of  the  meeting,  the  dis- 
creet dwarf,  turning  his  team,  rode  away,  taking 
several  turns  up  and  down  the  road,  partly  to  grad- 
ually dry  oft*  the  horse,  partly  to  keep  a  watch  that 
the  meeting  of  the  lovers  should  not  be  interrupted 
without  due  notice  given,  and  partly  to  allow  that 
meeting  to  go  on  without  his  own  presence  ;  but 
he  failed  not,  when  passing  and  rcpassing,  as  he 
several  times  did,  the  place  where  they  were  stand- 
ing, to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  happy  pair,  out  of 
the  corners  of  his  eyes  and  pass  mental  judgement 
on  what  he  observed. 

And  a  pleasant  hour  they  passed.  She  told  him 
all  the  news;  curled  her  lip  when  he  rallied  her 


1 94  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

about  lawyer  Roberts;  related  with  animation  the 
incidents  of  the  coming  and  going  of  the  gallant 
British  Ensign  and  his  squad,  at  the  same  time, 
blushing  when  she  told  him  how  she  had  told  him 
one  or  more  lies  and  measured  wit  with  the  mart- 
ial English  fop.  Howard  told  her  all  it  was  best 
to  tell  of  his  present  situation  ;  how  he  liked  his 
place,  besides  much  talk  that  we  have  no  business 
to  hear  or  to  know  of,  that  always  passes  between 
lovers  who  have  met  after  a  more  or  less  lengthy 
term  of  parting. 

They  had  several  occasions  to  plead  for  a  few 
more  moments  when  the  wary  He<5tor  informed 
them  that  it  was  time  to  go.  But  when  that  impor- 
tant and  arbitrary  individual  threatened  to  go  awav 
and  leave  her  »'to  frog  it  home  alone,"  as  he  saw 
fit  to  phrase  it.  unless  she  came  at  once,  they  were 
constrained  to  part,  with  many  an  assurance,  pro- 
testation and  token  of  affection  that  have,  so  many 
times,  been  recorded  in  novels  that  the  same  words 
repeated  here  would  seem  to  be  superfluous,  and 
we  leave  them  to  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 

They  parted,  to  meet  when,  where  and  under 
what  circumstances  as  fate  shall  decree,  and  will 
be  related  in  future  pages  of  these  chronicles. 

She  waved  her  handkerchief,  and  having  noth- 
ing else  to  do,  cried  ;  Hedor  grinned,  and  Howard 
kissed  his  hand  to  her  as  she  went  out  of  sight  and 
turned  awav  to  his  home. 


THE  COUNTEUFEITKRS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

BERMUDA     NARROWLY    ESCAPED. 

S  hereinbefore  set  clown  Captain  Stanfield 
was  very  angry  upon  the  return  of  his  sec- 
ond party,  from  whose  efforts  lie  had  ex- 
pected so  much,  and  realizedso  little,  be- 
ing repusled  even  more  ridiculously  than  the  first, 
yet  despite  his  chagrin,  he  was  compelled  to  laugh 
as  the  narrative  of  that  untoward  campaign  went 
on,  at  the  ingenuity  of  the  device  practiced  by  the 
enemy  to  drive  them  oft'  and  defeat  their  intended 
aim.  Bitter  as  the  cup  was,  there  was  to  be  detec- 
ted one  of  much  more  agreeable  flavor,  when  he 
was  told  that  his  most  important  enemy  was,  as  it 
were,  almost  in  his  powrer.  Possessing  a  very  ac- 
curate description  of  his  disguise,  by  the  means  of 
which  he  would  be  able  to  trace  him  to  his  most 
secret  haunt,  especially-  as  he  was  within  the  limit 
of  his  jurisdiction. 

His  duty  to  arrest  so  prominent  a  leader  of  the 
rebels,  and  he  would  take  all  honorable  means  of 
securing  his  person  for  that  reason.  But  the  events 
of  the  last  few  days  had  added  to  his  public  duty  a 
still  more  energetic  prompter  to  make  the  caption. 
His  general  hatred  to  all  rebels  as  the  basis  of  his 
act  was  topped  by  a  superstructure  of  individual 
spleen  against  one  he  supposed  as  the  planner  of 
his  reverses,  and  he  resolved  that  not  an  available 
>tnnc  should  be  left  unturned  in  his  efforts  to  get 
Captain  Lorimer  into  his  hands. 


10.6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

In  accordance  with  this  resolution  he,  on  the  fol- 
lowing morning,  dispatched,  by  the  first  mail,  the 
following  letter,  addressed  to  his  Colonel,  who -was 
at  that  time  in  command  at  Montreal : — 

"Sm  : — Please  arrest  an  elderly  gentleman,  ap- 
parently some  sixty  years  of  age,  about  six  feet  in 
height  and  very  corpulent.  He  wears  a  drab  coat, 
white  hat  and  green  spectacles.  He  is  a  danger- 
ous rebel,  in  disguise.  I  pledge  you  my  word  of 
honor  to  be  there  with  sufficient  proofs  of  his  guilt, 
when  his  trial  shall  come  off.  Further  particulars 
by  next  mail.  I  am,  dear  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 
E.  STANFIELD,  Capt,  Stcadville,  Can" 

Returning  from  the  postoffice,  which  he  reached 
just  in  time  to  ensure  his  letter's  prompt  departure 
and  in  which  service  he  had  dispensed  with  the  aid 
of  an  orderly  that  he  might  make  sure  of  its  going 
at  once,  he  was  accosted  by  a  young  merchant  of 
the  place.  Merril  by  name,  and  one  of  his  intimate 
friends,  although  accused  of  a  slight  leaning  tow- 
ard the  other  side  of  the  question,  with  : — 

•'Good  morning.  Cap.,  the  fa  me  of  your  numer- 
ous exploits  is  fast  gaining  you  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion. Your  last  night's  affair,  over  in  Uncle  Sam's 
dominions,  notwithstanding  your  .so  well-known 
modesty  would  have  prevented  transpiring,  is  be- 
coming public  and  the  ladies  have  resolved  to  pre- 
sent your  company  with  a  stand  of  colors,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  event,-and  Mrs.  Walling  just 
purchased  a  yard-and-half  of  red  cambric,  at  my 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  197 

place,  together  with  a  broomstick  ;  and  a  few  mo- 
ments since  I  saw  her  oldest  boy  cutting  out  that 
superb  engraving  of  a  baboon,  on  the  bill-board, 
over  yonder,  of  the  caravan  that  is  coming  next 
week,  to  paste  upon  it." 

"By  the  eternal,  Orton,"  exclaimed  the  captain, 
laughing  in  spite  of  himself;  '"if  you  don't  stop 
your  railery  I  will  arrest  you  as  a  rebel  and  shut 
you  up  where  you  will  have  something  to  think  of 
better  than  your  continued  flings  and  jibes  at  me 
and  my  men." 

"If  you  attempt  it,  Captain,"  laughingly  rejoin- 
ed the  other,  "I  will  set  my  wife  after  your  troopers 
with  a  teapot  full  of  hot  water,  and  little  Jane  with 
a  mopstick  for  a  lance,  and  put  them  all  to  the 
right-about  face." 

"Those  are  both  too  old  tricks  to  be  successful  a 
second  time,  I  assure  you." 

"I  will  sing  them  a  song,  then,"  retorted  Merril, 
"that  goes  something  like  this:  "You've  got  too 
far  from  Canada,  Run,  boys,  run  !'  and  then  I  am 
sure  to  conquer." 

"Confound  it,  Ort.,  can't  you  let  up  on  a  fellow 
for  a  single  minute?"  asked  the  badgered  captain. 
"Wait  a  day  or  two  and  I  will  show  you  that  one 
of  the  parties  has  got  too  far  into  Canada,  and  'run, 
boys,  run'  wont  help  him  out  of  his  scrape." 

"What,"  asked  the  hectoring  Merril ;  "have  the 
bold  yankees  made  up  a  party  of  one  to  invade  the 
Queen's  dominion,  in  retaliation  for  your  incursion 
into  theirs?  Call  out  your  Fencibles.  Captain,  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^-^s-^~^^^^-*~^s-*~,-^^~^^^^ 

let  them  retreat,  next  time,  toward  Vermont  and, 
perhaps  in  that  way  yon  can  coax  the  daring  inva- 
der home  again." 

A  muttered  anathema  from  the  captain's  lips  not- 
withstanding the  smile  on  his  face  ended  the  con- 
ference for  that  time. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress,  Captain 
Lorimer,  all  unconscious  that  he  had  been  betrayed, 
and  secure  in  his  disguise,  was  searching  in  every 
corner  of  Montreal  for  tidings  of  Miss  Helen  Leon- 
ard. In  this  search  he  was  assisted  by  a  well-tried 
friend  who  had  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  the 
suspicions  of  the  eager  hunters  for  rebels  and  in- 
surrectionists. Though  confident,  as  has  been  said, 
in  his  disguise,  the  doctor  had,  like  a  goo ,1  soldier, 
kept  open  a  line  of  retreat,  firstly,  bv  keeping  in 
waiting  on  the  river  a  faithful  waterman,  with  his 
boat,  and  on  the  opposite  shore,  a  fast  horse,  ready 
saddled  and  bridled,  except  at  feeding  time,  in  a 
place  where  he  could  be  reached  without  discovery, 
lie  had  also,  secreted  about  his  person,  all  the  ma- 
terials of  chemicals  and  saws  then  known,  for  use 
in  freeing  himself  from  prison,  should  he  be  so  un- 
fortunate as  to  be  in  need  of  them. 

The  search,  thorough  as  it  had  been,  had  as  yet 
proved  unavailing  and  he  had  begun  to  despair  of 
success.  During  all  this  time  no  suspicious  eye 
seemed  to  have  been  placed  upon  him,  until  one 
evening  some  three  or  four  days  after  his  arrival, 
when  sitting  in  a  saloon  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,  a  couple  of  soldiers  entered  the  taproom  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

_- • -*^-s_^v^-. ^^ . ^ . 

seemed  to  hesitate  when  they  saw  him.  They  con- 
ferred together  for  a  few  moments,  looking  occa- 
sionally athim,  passed  up  to  the  liar,  called  for  and 
drank  some  whiskey  and  left.  Lorimer  was.  at 
first,  convinced  that  he  was  known,  but  his  suspi- 
cions wore  off  at  length.  He  was  too  careful  how- 
ever to  remain  in  so  public  a  place  under  the  cir- 
cumstances and  after  paying  his  bill  left  the  house. 

The  next  morning  Captain  Lorimcr,  having  al- 
most entirely  forgotten  the  incident  of  the  evening 
before,  left  his  friend's  dwelling  and  proceeding  to 
the  bank  of  the  river  in  order  to  ascertain  if  his 
waterman  was  on  duty,  found  him  at  his  post.  A 
signal  heretofore  agreed  upon  passed  between  the 
two,  and  Lorimer  took  his  course  up  town  intend- 
ing to  continue  the  search.  He  had  gained  the 
lower  end  of  Great  St.  James  street,  when  he  sud- 
denly found  himself  surrounded  by  a  squad  of  sol- 
diers who,  at  once,  marched  him  oiV  to  jail. 

Now  prisoners,  Lorimer  well  knew,  scarcoiv,  if 
ever,  make  any  attempt  at  escape  immediately  on 
their  incarceration  and  jailors  in  general  know  the 
same  to  be  a  fa 61.  With  this  understanding  on  their 
part  or,  perhaps,  in  the  hurry  of  the  moment,  his 
captors  neglected  to  search  him,  and  on  his  own, 
he  made  up  his  mind  to  make  his  eftbrt  at  once.  To 
this  end,  when  the  turnkey  visited  him,  bringing 
his  mid-day  meal  was  the  time  fixed  for  his  under- 
taking. A  close  examination  of  his  cell  disclosed 
a  narrow,  grated,  unassailable  window,  some  ten 
feet  from  the  floor.  The  walls  were  impregnable. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

being  formed  of  huge  blocks  and  slabs  of  granite, 
the  floor  and  roof  of  the  same.  The  door  was 
made  of  hard- wood  planking,  thickly  clamped  with 
iron  and  studded  with  large,  rivetted  bolts.  An 
ordinarily  made  but  massive  lock  was  on  the  door, 
the  bolt  setting  into  a  slot  in  the  masonry.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  fastening  there  was  a  thick  iron  bar 
swinging  from  a  staple  on  the  outside,  with  a  slot, 
for  the  purpose  of  passing  over  another  staple  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  door,  into  which,  at  night, 
a  strong  padlock  was  inserted,  the  other  lock  being 
considered  sufHcient  security  during  the  day.  His 
mind  was  made  up  in  a  moment  and,  about  time 
the  turnkey  might  be  expected,  he  took  from  his 
neck-cloth  a  heavy  steel  spring,  coiled  into  a  small 
compass.  Shortly  the  doors  of  the  cells  nearer  the 
top  of  the  stairs  were  heard  to  open,  one  after  the 
other,  and  the  hoarse  voice  of  the  jailor  heard,  as 
he  addressed  some  expletive  to  the  inmates.  At 
length  the  key  was  inserted  in  the  lock  of  his  own 
cell  door  and  the  ponderous  mass  swung  creaking 
back  upon  its  hinges.  With  the  remark  of  "Here, 

you  d d  rebel,  is  your  dinner,  and  you'd  better 

eat  it  soon  or  you'll  lose  it,"  was  retiring  when  the 
prisoner  spoke  : — 

"You  just  called  me  a  rebel,  sir  turnkey  :  is  that 
the  charge  against  me?" 

"In  course  'tis.  D d  like  ye  didn't  know 

what  ye'd  been  at !"  at  the  same  time  going  out. 

Lorimer  hastened  to  that  spot  for  the  purpose  of 
asking  some  other  question,  apparently,  but  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

man  paid  no  attention  to  him  and  swung  the  door 
to  its  place.  As  he  did  so,  Herbert,  with  a  sleight 
of  hand  that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  conjurer, 
slipped  the  spring  into  the  socket  into  which  the 
bolt  sprang.  The  door  slammed  to  and  the  man, 
in  turning  the  key  quickly,  threw  the  bolt  against 
the  spring  and  that  recoiling  returned  the  bolt  and 
at  the  same  time  snapped  the  key  from  his  lingers. 
Muttering  a  curse  at  the  smartness  of  the  lock,  the 
jailor,  imagining  the  bolt  in  place,  withdrew  the 
key  but,  with  his  habitual  precaution,  pressed  for- 
cibly against  the  door  and  finding  it  unyielding, 
went  on  his  rounds.  Lorimer  anticipating  some 
such  movement  had  planted  himself  firmly  against 
the  solid  portal,  on  the  inside,  and  thus  had  held 
it  in  its  place. 

No  sooner  had  the  captain  discovered  that  his 
ruse  had  fairly  succeeded  and  that  the  door  was  not 
bolted,  than  a  "lightning  change  of  costume"  that 
well  might  shame  the  best  professor  of  the  art,  took 
place.  The  drab  coat  and  the  superabundance  of 
paunch  disappeared  ;  the  white  hat,  green  glasses 
and  wrinkles  on  his  face  dropped  away  ;  the  white 
hair  changed  to  red  ;  the  light  complexion  deep- 
ened to  brown,  and  there  he  sioxl  with  straw  hat, 
and  blue  and  white  over-shirt  like  a  carter's  frock, 
enclosing  his  upper  man.  He  also  held  a  whip  in 
in  his  hand  and  in  his  teeth  a  black  stub  of  a  pipe, 
which  he  lighted  and  was  soon  purling  at  vigor- 
ously. Hastily  making  a  bun  11.:  of  his  drab  coal, 
which  being  made  up  with  the  wrong  side  outward. 


THE  COrNTERFEITERS. 
^.^ — • — - — -^ ~^^- 

resembled  something  clone  up  in  a  towel.  Lorimer 
passed  through  the  door,  closing  it  carefully  and 
firmly  behind  him,  went  a  few  feet  in  an  opposite 
direction  from  the  one  taken  by  the  jailor,  turned 
when  he  heard  that  worthy  advancing,  and  boldlv 
met  him  face-to-face. 

'•Hello,  who  the  devil  have  we  got  here?"  ex- 
claimed that  functionary,  a  good  deal  surprised  at 
the  sight  of  a  stranger,  in  that  place. 

"I  say,  yeou  Mister,  aie  yeou  the  boss  of  this'ere 
old  trap?  'Cause  is  you  be  I've  got  an  arrant  fer 
yeou,"  responded  the  vankee  carter. 

••Xot  by  a  d d    sight  I    ain't,"  answered   the 

man ;   "and  what's  more  I  don't  want  to  be." 

••Wai,  yeou  needn't  be  so  darned  putchiky  about 
it,  anyhow.  Nobody's  agoin'  to  hurt  yeou." 

"How  the  .devil  did  you  come  here,  I  should  like 
to  know,  and  what  for?" 

"That'are  feller,  down  tu  the  door,  said  as  how 
as  the  boss  was  up  some  o'  these'ere  darned  stairs, 
and  sent  me  up  to  find  him.  Du  yeou  know  where 
I  ken  find  the  pesky  critter?" 

"He's  gone  to  dinner,  and  that  cussed  Irishman 
has  played  a  trick  on  you." 

"Has,  hey  ?  Darn  his  pidler,  I'll  give  him  a  bat 
over  the  mug  fer  that,  darned  if  I  don't." 

"Well,  come  on  and  get  out  of  this.  I  want  to 
get  my  own  dinner,"  said  the  man,  surlilv. 

•I  say  yeou.  Mister,"  began  the  pretended  yan- 
ki-ea*  they  approached  the  outer  door.  "Yeou  jest 
ketch  holt  of  my  bundle  fer  half-a-mimite.  while  T 


THE  COUNTKUFEITKRS. 

wallop  that'ere  pesky  varmint,  will  yeou?     I'll  clu 
it  in  three  gift's,  by  mighty  !" 

But  the  trick  playing  Irishman  had  prudently  re- 
tired or,  at  least,  was  not  there  when  they  arrived 
and  the  hungry  turnkey  let  the  incensed  yankee 
out  and,  with  a  smothered  curse,  slammed  the  big 
door  after  him  and  went  to  his  dinner. 

In  less  than  ten  minutes  from  that  time,  a  man, 
much  different  in  appearance  from  the  one  who  had 
stationed  him  there,  appeared  to  the  waiting  water- 
man and  giving  the  signal,  exclaimed  : — 

"I  sav,  veou,  Mister,  can  yeou  give  a  feller  of 
my  size  a  set  acrost  this'ere  plaguey  river  for  forty  - 
tu  cents  in  cash,  money  deown  and  no  hagglin'?" 
"That  is  eight  cents  less  than  our  usual  price," 
replied  the  waterman,  answering  the  signal ;  "but 
I  will  set  you  across  for  that  sum,  pay  in  advance," 
and  by  a  dexterous  motion  of  his  oars,  he  swung 
the  stern  of  his  boat  to  the  shore.  It  was  a  neatly 
modelled  and  painted  skiff',  built  more  for  speed 
than  for  capacity  to  carry  freight,  and  presented  on 
the  stern  the  name  of  "Swallow." 

"Yeou  'pear  tu  be  most  everlastin'  particular," 
replied  the  pretended  yankee  carter,  wiping  his 
nose  on  his  sleeve.  "My  uncle  Hezekiah,  (meb- 
be  yeou  know  him,  and  then  ag'in,  mebbe  yeou 
don't,)  used  tu  say  that  'a  good  paymaster  always 
paid  when  the  work  was  done  ;'  but  never  mind  ; 
here's  the  spondulicks,"  and  he  handed  him  two 
bright  golden  sovereigns,  for  which  the  waterman 
thanked  him.  "Now  go  ahead  with  veour  ark." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

.^> ,-s^-v-~x-^ ~~^^-^-*~~~^^^^. 

"And  now,  Walbridge,  we  have  talked  enough 
for  these  listening  fools  and  time  is  valuable,"  said 
Lorimer,  in  a  lower  tone;  "give  way  and  don't 
let  your  boat's  acls  belie  her  name. 

"Have  you  been  discovered?" 

"•Discovered  !  Ten  minutes  from  the  time  I  saw 
you  this  morning  I  was  arrested  ;  ten  minutes  later 
1  was  in  Montreal  jail,  and  ten  minutes  ago  I  had 
the  good  fortune  to  escape." 

"How  on  earth  did  they  come  to  know  you  ?" 

"That  is  more  than  I  can  tell.  But  give  way  ; 
it  cannot  be  many  minutes  now  before  my  absence 
will  be  discovered,  and  then  the  chase  will  begin. 
Thank  God  !"  he  exclaimed  as  he  darted  a  search- 
ing glance  over  his  shoulder,  "it  will  be  a  'stern 
chase',  and  they  are  always  long  ones,  if  there  is 
any  truth  in  the  old  adage." 

Nor  did  the  clean  little  boat  disgrace  the  bird 
whence  came  its  name.  Across  the  sunlit  and  rip- 
pleless  river  she  sped,  like  her  namesake  in  play ; 
skimming  close  to  the  clear  water,  with  the  speed 
of  light,  under  the  impetus  of  the  strong-armed 
and  expert  oarsman  ;  seemingly  occupying  neither 
element,  but  passing  through  a  space  between  the 
two  and  occasionally,  not  hastily  or  nervously  drop- 
ping i(ts  wings  into  the  lower  fluid  to  emerge  in  an 
instant  again  into  the  upper,  and  flash  in  the  sun- 
light, like  sheets  of  burnished  silver  as  they  pa-sc  ! 
forward  again  to  dip  in  the  mirror-like  surface, 
and  leave  neither  ripple  or  eddy  at  either  place  of 
entrance  or  emergence. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

The  river  was  passed  and  yet  no  sign  of  pursuit ; 
the  profane  and  grumbling  turnkey  had  on  that  day 
something  better  than  usual  for  dinner,  or,  it  took 
longer  to  supply  his  wants  than  was  its  wont,  and 
the  vacant  cell  had  not,  as  yet  been  visited  by  him 
or  the  prisoner's  absence  noted. 

What  more  exhilarating  sensation  can  be  imag- 
ined than  that  experienced  by  a  healthful,  strong 
man  when  he  feels  the  breathing  of  a  sound,  clean 
limbed  thoroughbred  between  his  knees?  With 
glossy  coat,  deep  chest,  arched  neck  fringed  with 
a  light  mane  and  terminated  bv  a  clean  head,  pos- 
sessing brilliant  eyes,  far  apart,  pointed  ears,  close 
together,  nostrils  in  which  you  m.iy  thrust  your  fist 
and  firm  but  obedient  mouth;  with  long,  fiat  arms 
and  short  joints  below  ;  hairless  fetlocks  and  round 
hoofs,  well  arched  and  high,  he  seems  the  very  em- 
bodiment of  strength,  speed  and  endurance.  He 
is  full  of  fire,  but  gentle  under  his  master's  hand, 
as  a  lamb  ;  anxious  to  be  going,  but  easily  restrain- 
ed; restless  in  spirit,  but  quiet  in  body;  the  most 
useful  and  faithful  of  man's  servants,  but  the  serv- 
ant that  is  most  often  abused  and  maltreated. 

And  then,  when  on  the  road,  what  better  suretv 
for  a  man's  life  or  liberty?  what  ampler  warrant  of 
his  freedom  ?  An  old  tie  or  a  rock  of  an  hundred 
pounds  weight  will  stop  the  best,  brass  mounted  lo- 
comotive in'its  career;  a  small  tree  across  the  road 
will  make  it  impassable  to  the  finest  coach  with  its 
six  matched  horses  and  but  a  slight  obstruction  will 
check  the  progress  of  a  lighter  vehicle,  but  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 
^^. ~~*. •—•— ~- — ' 

thoiotighbred,  with  uniform  and  powerful  stridt 
and  graceful,  jarless  gather,  will  scarcely  heed  the 
tie  or  the  rock,  bound  lightly  over  the  small  tree, 
and  spurn  the  slight  obstruction*  with  his  strong 
hoofs.  And  when  danger  is  behind  and  safety  be- 
fore, a  dungeon  in  the  rear  and  liberty  ahead,  ea- 
ger officers  following  and  a  clear  track  to  pursue, 
there  is  assurance  in  a  good  horse ;  his  strong  but 
easv  motion  stiffens  the  back  of  his  rider,  gives  his 
digestive  organs  a  new  impetus,  brightens  his  eye 
and  puts  finer  springs  in  his  joints ;  it  opens  scen- 
ery the  grovelling  and  often  earth-burrowing  cars 
do  not  command ;  scenery  the  curtains  of  the  fine 
coach  obscures,  and  scenery  that  the  dust,  fol- 
lowing the  lighter  vehicle  hides  from  the  sight ; 
scenery  of  mountain  and  hill  and  plain,  of  river 
and  lake  and  pond,  of  sky  and  earth  and  air,  that 
well  may  make  a  new  man  of  the  traveller  and  add 
vears  to  the  span  of  human  life. 

And  then  the  ride  across  the  open  country,  a\vav 
over  roads  of  loam  and  roads  of  flint,  over  firm 
sward  and  quaking  bog,  over  fence  and  hummuck, 
over  bridge  and  causeway ;  away,  up  the  long  in- 
cline and  down  the  slowly  falling  hill  and  across 
the  dead  level ;  away  by  cottage  and  mansion,  by 
woodland  and  meadow,  by  pond  shore  and  river 
bank,  by  fenced  and  open  land;  away,  by  where 
the  plowman  follows  his  lagging  team  and  the  hot 
mower  swings  his  hissing  scythe,  by  where  the 
romping  school  children  are  just  released  from  their 
thrall,  and  the  moody  pedestrian  slowly  paces  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

dusty  road,  bv  man  and  beast  toiling1  or  feeding  or 
sleeping  or  at  play ;  away,  like  wind  or  a  rocket, 
like  the  flash  of  a  swallow  or  the  hiss  of  a  bullet, 
like  the  cars,  without  their  racket  and  jar  and  cin- 
ders and  smoke,  like  the  tornado  without  its  blus- 
ter and  noise  and  wrecks  and  prostrated  forests  and 
buildings;  like  the  lightning  without  its  glare  and 
zig-zag  and  scathing  and  menace  ;  away  with  but 
one  thud  of  the  steel  clad  hoofs  on  the  bridge,  one 
noiseless  beat  on  the  loam,  one  crash  among  the 
flints ;  away  with  but  one  splash  of  the  clock-like 
playing  feet  in  the  bog,  one  throb  on  the  sward,  one 
tick  on  the  highest  rail  of  the  fence  ;  away  from 
danger  to  safety,  from  dungeon  to  liberty,  from  fol- 
lowing officers  to  the  clean  course  in  advance. 

Arid  such  a  ride  was  that  of  Captain  Lorimer, 
when  he  had  bestrode  his  friend's  gallant  gray  and 
took  his  way  southward.  And  freedom  seemed 
close  before,  but  a  vindictive  enemy  had  scattered 
broadcast,  his  description,  to  all  the  frontier  posts, 
with  orders  to  arrest  him,  should  he  appear.  Not- 
withstanding the  success  that  had  attended  him  so 
far  on  his  road,  he  relaxed  not  in  vigilance. 

Although  Lorimer  had  husbanded  his  steed's 
strength  and  wind  as  much  as  was  compatible  with 
a  speedy  journev,  as  night  approached  he  perceiv- 
ed the  necessity  of  halting,  both  to  rest  and  feed 
himself,  as  well  as  his  faithful  companion.  To  that 
end  he  began  to  search  for  some  hotel  or  wavside 
tavern  and  was  soon  gratified  by  the  sight  of  a  vil- 
lage and  on  passing  at  a  much  reduced  rate  of  speed 


208  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

its  single  street,  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  swinging  sign- 
board, intimating  that  his  end  was  gained.  Riding 
to  the  porch  he  gave  his  animal  into  charge  of  a 
waiting  hostler,  with  many  an  exhortation  to  good 
care  and  good  feeding,  and  passed  within  the  wide 
open  door,  beyond  which  was  quite  a  gathering  of 
men  in  red  and  gray  coats. 

To  Lorimer's  surprise,  we  had  almost  said  dis- 
may, he  recognized,  immediately  on  his  entrance, 
in  the  Lieutenant  in  charge,  a  former  intimate  and 
friendly  school-fellow  in  Montreal,  who  was,  even 
then  engaged  in  reading  a  printed  description  of 
himself.  The  officer  gave  a  start  of  surprise  when 
his  eves  fell  upon  the  newcomer,  and  quickly  ad- 
vancing, at  the  same  time  crushing  the  paper  in  his 
hand  and  thrusting  it  into  his  breast  pocket,  he  ex- 
tended his  other  hand  to  Lorimer,  saving: — 

"Why,  friend  Herbert,  how  are  you?  I  little 
thought  of  meeting  you  in  this  out-of-the-way  spot 
and,"  he  continued  as  he  took  a  glance  at  the  oth- 
er's costume,  "in  such  a  rig  as  vou  have  adopted." 

"I  say  yeou,  Mister,  ef  yeou  are  a-trvin'  tu  plav 
any  ov  veur  tricks  onto  a  countryman,  yeou  may 
find  eut  yeou're  barkin'  up  the  wrong  tree,  as  mv 
uncle  Hezekiah  was  apt  tu  say  when  tu  hum,"  re- 
joined Lorimer,  nevertheless  taking  the  young  offi- 
cer's extended  hand. 

••Xo,  but  truly,  are  you  not  Herbert  Lorimer.-" 
asked  the  lieutenant,  much  surprised. 

"Ef  E-z-e-k-i-e-l  spells  Hubbut,  and  S-m-i-t-h 
spells  that'ere  t'other  name,  then  I'm  him,"  replied 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  209 

the  impurturbable  Lorimer,  looking  squarely  and 
boldly  in  the  other's  face.  "Neovv  as  yeou've  got 
the  advantage  of  me,  p'raps  yeou'll  tell  me  what 
yeour  own  name  might  be,  neowr." 

"I  am  Lieutenant  of  this  squad  of  men,  and  my 
name  is  Eugene  Watson,"  replied  that  individual. 
"And  hain't  yeou  got  no  other  business  than  tu 
make  fun  of  strangers?  Abeout  how  much  du  ye 
get  fer  sich  a  job?  Ef  yeou're  in  want  ov  hands 
tu  help  yeou,  I  might  hire  eout." 

"Strange,"  said  the  officer,  in  a  sort  of  aside-; 
"the  height  and  form  are  very  much  like,  and  he 
used  to  be  a  good  mimic,  too.  Well,  perhaps  I 
am  mistaken,  after  all." 

"Ef  I  understood  yeou  right,  Mr.  What's-yeour 
-name,  what  did  yeou  say?  I'm  a  leetle  deef,  in 
one  ear,  and  kinder  hard  ov  hearin'  in  t'other." 

"I  say  that  you  are  Captain  Herbert  Lorimer, 
and  my  prisoner,"  replied  the  lieutenant,  resolved 
to  solve  his  doubts,  even  if  compelled  to  use  harsh 
measures  to  accomplish  it. 

"All  right,  Mister  Leftenant,"  answered  Lorimer 
"Ef  I  be  I  be,  I  swow ;  but  I'm  darned  ef  I  knew 
it  till  neow.  Ef  I  be  yeour  pris'ner,  p'raps  yeou'll 
order  supper  fer,  by  jinks,  I'm  aHired  hungry,  and 
a  leetle  nipper  ov  sutthin'  tu  take  wouldn't  come 
amiss,  as  uncle  Hezekiah  used  tu  say." 

The  inflexible  coolness  of  the  man  rather  stag- 
gered the  officer  and  he  knew  not  what  to  think. 
After  a  few  moments  of  cogitation,  a  bright  idea 
occurred  to  him.  He  determined  to  try  a  stratagem 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  which  he  had  read,  and  in  furtherance  of  it  he 
turned  to  some  of  his  men  and  commenced  conver- 
sation with  them,  gradually  making  his  way  tow- 
ard a  distant  part  of  the  room.  This  took  some 
twenty  minutes  to  accomplish  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time Lorimer  had  taken  up  a  paper,  and  engaged 
himself  in  its  perusal.  No  sooner  had  the  officer 
perceived  this,  and  that  the  suspected  party  seemed 
deeply  engrossed  in  some  article  therein,  when  he 
loudly  exclaimed,  at  the  same  time  watching  the 
stranger  critically  : — 

"Do6tor,  Doctor  Lorimer,  this  way  a  moment." 

Had  not  Herbert  been  most  strictly  on  his  guard 
this  ruse  would  have  succeeded;  but,  as  it  was  not 
a  muscle  in  his  face  moved,  nor  did  he  even  look 
up  from  his  reading. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Smith,"  now  said  the 
lieutenant,  approaching  the  disguised  man  ;  "I  rea- 
lly thought  you  was  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine, 
but  am  now  convinced  that  you  are  not." 

"Sho!  yeou,  Is  that'are  so?  Why,  I  knowed 
I  wasn't  all  the  time.  Then  I  ain't  yeour  pris'ner, 
arter  all,  hey,  and  ain't  a-goin'  tu  git  my  supper 
and  a  nipper  free  gratis  and  fer  nothin',  as  my  un- 
cle Hezekiah  used  tu  say?" 

"As  far  as  the  nipper  is  concerned,  Mr.  Smith, 
I  am  most  willing  to  pay  for  one  apiece,  all  round," 
replied  the  officer,  laughing;  "but  I  am  afraid  you 
will  have  to  sup  at  your  own  expense." 

"Wai,  neow,  that's  noble.  I  don't  care  ef  I  du," 
and  he  made  his  way  to  the  bar.  "I  dunno's  you'll 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 
— — - — - — - — • — ^. — . — ^^ — - — , 

believe  it,  but  I  sartainly  thought  yeou  was  a-mak- 
in'  fun  of  me  jest  'cause  I  was  a  countryman,  like. 
Here's  luck,  Leftenant,  and  darn  me  ef  yeou  ain't 
a  trump,  yas  I'll  be  sniggered  intu  fits  ef  veou  ain't 
the  right  bower  o'  trumps,  anyhcow." 

"I  am  certainly  obliged  to  you  for  your  good  o- 
pinion,  Mr.  Smith,"  returned  the  now  thoroughly 
convinced  officer,  as  he  put  down  his  glass;  "and 
am  very  much  chagrinned  that  I  made  such  an  un- 
fortunate mistake." 

"Yeou  needn't  grin  nothin'  abeout  it,  Mister — 
I  mean  Leftenant,"  replied  Lorimer;  "and  I  don't 
mind  neow  ef  I  treat  tu.  I  say,  darn  the  expense 
when  yeou  meet  a  friend,  as  my  uncle  Hezckiah 
used  tu  say.  I  say,  yeou,  Mister  landlord,  set  on 
some  more  of  yeour  kill-devil,  will  yeou?" 

The  second  edition  thus  disposed  of,  the  soldiers 
who  had  been  included  in  the  invitation,  voted  the 
yankee  a  right  good  fellow,  and  soon  after  followed 
their  leader  from  the  house.  Lorimer  procured  his 
supper,  paid  his  bill  and  the  reader  may  believe 
that  when  an  hour  had  passed,  and  he  was  again 
mounted  upon  his  gallant  gray,  now  fully  recruit- 
ed from  his  afternoon's  task,  quite  a  burden  had 
been  lifted  from  his  mind. 

Had  Lieutenant  Watson  been  himself  a  yankee, 
or  by  association  or  use,  better  conversant  with  the 
provincial  dialecl,  he  had  scarcely  been  so  easily 
d-eceived  by  the  Captain's  somewhat  crude  and  the- 
atrical assumption  of  the  character.  But  success 
being  the  criterion,  he  was  satisfied. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

And  now  away  again,  through  gathering  gloom 
and  fast  settling  night ;  under  the  stars  as  they  came 
out  one  by  one  from  their  background  the  Blue  Be- 
yond, like  the  lamps  of  a  great  city  with  a  very 
agile  lamplighter,  kindling  them  fast  and  faster, 
till  the  whole  vast  territory  of  the  sky  was  speck- 
led with  the  many  twinkling  lights  ;  under  the  cor- 
ner-clipped moon,  as  if  a  portion  of  its  periphery 
had  been  rubbed  out,  but  leaving  the  rest  as  bright, 
nay,  it  seemed  brighter  than  before  ;  a  slower  lo- 
comotive with  a  more  numerous  train  and  a  less 
brilliant  headlight,  on  the  tramway  of  the  sky,  go- 
ing from,  instead  of  coming  to,  the  last  station  on 
the  line,  "Sundown;"  away  again  from  danger  to 
safety,  from  a  dungeon  to  liberty,  and  from  follow- 
ing officers  to  the  clear  track  in  advance. 

The  daylight  had  scarcely  really  settled  itself  in 
the  east,  and  began  to  throw  out  streamer  signals 
to  the  opposite  quarter,  when  Dr.  Lorimer  crossed 
the  mystic  line  and  he  was  in  a  land  of  liberty,  once 
fought  and  bled  for,  and  thirty  years  later  assured 
and  cemented  by  the  blood  of  thousands  uselessly 
shed ;  and  where  he  could  enjoy  freedom,  without 
fighting  or  bleeding  for  it.  And  now,  for  the  first 
time  since  his  escape,  so  hurriedly  had  the  events 
crowded  upon  him,  did  the  results  of  his  fruitless 
search  come  to  his  mind,  and  he  resolved  to  insti- 
tute a  more  thorough  examination  of  the  matter, 
and  nearer  home. 

There  is  an  old  saying,  Do6lor,  that  you  had  bet- 
ter heed.  It  is  :  "Let  sleeping-dogs  lie  !" 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  2  13 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

SOME      DISCLOSURES. 

CARCELY  an  hour  had  elapsed,  after  the 
departure  of  Lorimer,  the  bailiff  and  his 
assistants  from  the  Stone  House  in  the 
Pass,  before  Helen  Leonard  was  again  in 
her  room  ;  the  one  looking  out  of  the  grated  win- 
dow in  the  gable.  Where  she  remained  during  the 
visit  of  the  officers  will  be  hereafter  disclosed.  The 
room,  from  being  the  repository  of  lumber,  broken 
furniture  and  dust,  became  as  before,  tidv  and  in- 
habitable, provided  always,  the  occupant  was  not 
a  prisoner  and  did  not  catch  occasional  glimpses 
of  the  crossed  bars  of  iron  interposing  between 
herself  and  freedom. 

Helen  had  no  means  of  knowing  why  she  had 
been  so  suddenly  removed  and  as  suddenly  return- 
ed nor  did  she  dream  how  near  had  been  liberation 
accomplished  by  one  who,  in  her  great  strait  would 
have  been  most  welcome  to  her  aching  eyes.  But 
had  she  known  the  whole,  it  would  have  availed 
her  nothing  save  the  consolation  she  would  natur- 
rallv  derive  from  the  facl  that,  instead  of  being,  as 
she  supposed,  friendless  and  unsought,  an  inde- 
fatigable friend  was  in  search  of  her,  who  would 
leave  no  effort  untried  but  she  should  again  taste  the 
delights  of  being  free  in  body  and  free  of  fear  for 
her  personal  safety.  This  consolation  would  have 
been  a  great  stay  and  support  to  her  already  flag- 
ging spirits,  and  given  her  courage  for  the  future. 


214  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

On  the  following  day  she  received  another  visit 
from  her  importunate  and  deceived  suitor,  but,  un- 
der the  plea  of  indisposition,  a  plea  that  is  often 
used  in  our  day  to  the  same  end,  she  excused  her- 
self from  any  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject 
so  near  his  heart. 

Nearly  a  week  now  glided  over  her  head,  with- 
out any  incident  worthy  of  note  when,  on  an  even- 
ing at  the  end  of  that  time  she  was  again  startled, 
as  she  sat  looking  forth  from  the  grated  window, 
the  sash  being  raised,  by  the  sound  of  some  hard 
substance  striking  one  of  the  bars  and  rebounding 
falling  to  the  ground.  It  seemed  to  have  been  a 
pebble  wrapped  in  something,  evidently  paper ; 
and  manv  an  idea  she  formed  of  its  nature.  That 
it  was  thrown  or  tossed  there  by  someone  and  that 
one  a  person  who  could  avail  him  or  herself  of  no 
other  way  of  communication  was  evident ;  and  she 
finally  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a  letter 
intended  for  her.  and  that  he  who  would  have  de- 
livered it  only  failed  in  so  doing,  by  the  interven- 
tion of  the  bar.  Even  while  these  thoughts  were 
in  her  mind,  and  she  was  gazing  down  where,  in 
the  twilight,  she  could  just  discern  the  white  pa- 
per, if  paper  it  was,  from  the  surrounding  earth, 
she  was  almost  maddened  by  seeing  one  of  the  gang 
pick  it  up,  untie  a  string  and  unfold  what  was  evi- 
dently a  letter  which,  after  a  slight  examination,  he 
carried  into  the  house. 

Slight  as  was  the  foundation    on  which  to  erect 
her  superstructure,    and  small  as  the  incident  was. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  2 It; 

to  her  appreciative  mind  there  was  cause  for  hope 
to  her  in  it.  At  this  instant  the  thought  occurred 
to  her  to  look  for  the  person  who.  had  made  the  at- 
tempt and  she  thought  she  saw,  under  the  bushes, 
whence  had  come  help  before,  a  diminutive  figure 
waving  his  hand.  So  great  "had  become  the  gloom 
by  this  time  that  she  was  uncertain,  but  confident 
that  she  was  correct  and  that  it  must  be  a  friend, 
she  wraved  her  handkerchief  in  return.  Her  hand 
was  not  withdrawn  from  between  the  bars,  when 
she  heard  the  crack  of  a  rifle,  followed  almost  im- 
mediately by  a  shrill  scream  from  beneath  the  tree 
and  this  again  by  the  voice  of  Samuel  Pruyter,  as 
he  muttered  a  hoarse  oath  just  below  her. 

The  intelligent  girl,  of  course,  read  all  this  mys- 
tery as  readily  as  does  the  reader,  though  perhaps, 
not  so  easily  as  to  who  had  been  the  mark  at  which 
young  Pruyter  had  made  his  shot.  She  soon  after 
saw  three  men  approaching  the  tree,  bearing  a  lan- 
tern, but  soon  discovered  that  they  were  at  fault, 
for  they  failed  to  make  any  discoveries,  and  soon 
returned  empty-handed. 

The  night  being  without  a  cloud  and  quite  warm 
for  the  season,  the  girl  remained  at  the  window, 
absorbed  in  thought,  not  only  of  the  incidents  that 
had  just  transpired  but  of  many  other  matters. 
Finally  her  meditations  led  her  back  to  Montreal 
and,  as  a  consequence,  to  the  "one  who  had  crossed 
her  life-path  there.  Though  no  word  of  love  had 
been  spoken,  the  speaking  eyes  of  Herbert  Lori- 
mer  had  told  tales  his  lips  had,  as  yet,  refused  to 


2i(i  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

utter;  and  though,  when  she  had  returned  to  her 
mother's  bedside,  her  heart  was  but  little  interested 
til-'  seocls  of  that  sweetest  yet  saddest  passion  of  the 
human  heart  had  been  planted,  and  meditation  and 
trouble  had  fostered  them  to  a  speedy  growth. 

Of  him,  then,  who  had  prompted  that  affection 
that  now  bloomed  so  lavishly,  did  she  meditate  and 
wish,  oh,  how  earnestly,  that  he  might  learn  of  her 
imprisonment  and  come  to  her  rescue.  Naturally 
romantic  in  her  feelings  notwithstanding  her  good 
supply  of  common  sense,  she  pictured  him  daring 
much  in  her  behalf  and  she  fondly  hoped,  succeed- 
ing. Little  did  she  know  how  near  to  her  wishes 
the  obje6t  of  her  hopes  was  acting ;  for  of  his  be- 
ing in  Steadville,  of  his  pursuing  her  captor  on  that 
night  of  his  effort  to  release  her,  of  the  dangers  he 
had  passed  in  following  the  false  track  made  by 
her  faithless  guardian  and  of  his  even  now  plan- 
ning to  her  good,  she  knew  nothing.  Being  igno- 
rant of  these  facls  and  very  anxious  for  assistance, 
she  came  at  last  to  feel  hurt  that  he  had  not  made 
inquries  for  her  and  had  not  undertaken  her  cause. 

While  these  thoughts,  natural  as  they  were  to  a 
person  in  her  situation,  were  dancing  through  her 
mind,  her  attention  was  attracted  by  a  light  click- 
ing sound,  low  but  distinct,  apparently  in  the  wall 
beneath  her.  Thrusting  her  head  as  far  as  possible 
through  an  aperture  in  the  grating  she  just  discern- 
ed what  appeared  to  be  a  baboon  or  large  ape,  ma- 
king his  way  up  the  surface  of  stones.  Frightened 
at  first  but,  after  a  second  thought,  assured  that  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  317 

same  obstruction  that  kept  her  in  would  keep  him 
out,  she  stepped  a  pace  from  the  window,  and  a- 
waited  events.  Not  long,  however,  for  soon  a  hu- 
man face  and  one  that  she  recognized  as  that  of  the 
brother  of  him  who  had  heen  so  prominent  in  her 
mind  and  whom  she  had  once  seen  in  Montreal, 
though  carried  and  backed  now,  by  an  ape's  body, 
made  its  appearance,  above  the  sill,  and  reaching 
upward  one  of  its  paws,  clung  to  the  grating. 

"Why,  how  in  mercy's  name,  Hector  Lorimer, 
did  you  contrive  to  get  here?"  exclaimed  Helen,  in 
an  excited  but  still  low  and  guarded  tone,  as  the 
welcome  sight  met  her  vision. 

"By  hook  and  by  crook,  the  same  way  the  old 
woman  got  the  apples  that  she  was  unable  to  climb 
for,"  answered  the  dwarf,  at  the  same  time  point- 
ing to  two  sharp  pointed  and  finely  tempered  steel 
hooks,  not  dissimilar  to  those  now  used  bv  tele- 
graph repairers  in  ascending  the  poles  on  which 
the  wires  are  hung  and  so  arranged  as  to  take  and 
retain  hold  upon  the  smallest  inequality  of  a  rock, 
buckled  firmly  to  the  insidesof  his  wrists.  "I  have 
a  couple  more  fastened  to  my  ankles,  Miss  Helen, 
and  I  could  climb  the  rainbow  with  them,  if  ever 
I  could  get  to  where  the  end  of  it  rests  upon  the 
earth." 

"Was  it  not  yon  that  was  fired  on,  just  now?" 
asked  the  girl,  smiling. 

"I  suppose  so,"  replied  Hector,  twisting  his  fea- 
tures into  a  comical  grin,  one  practiced  upon  for 
masquerade  purposes,  when  his  costume  was  the 


2lS  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

same  that  he  now  wore;  ''but  have  no  means  of 
knowing,  for  I  heard  no  bullet  or  other  indication 
of  the  gun's  being  pointed  at  me.  But  as  there 
didn't  seem  to  be  any  one  around  likely  to  be  made 
a  target  of,  perhaps  they  chose  a  small  one,  rather 
than  they  should  have  none." 

"But  I  heard  a  scream  immediately  upon  the 
discharge  of  the  gun,"  said  Helen. 

"Why  yes,"  replied  Hector ;  "that  was  me.  A 
poor  marksman  needs  encouragement  and  I  yelled 
to  comfort  him  with  the  idea  that  he  had  made  for 
once  in  his  life  a  respectable  shot." 

"And  how  has  your  health  been  since  I  saw  you 
in  the  city?"  asked  Miss  Leonard. 

••Now  look  here,  Miss  Helen,"  asked  Hector, 
saucily  winking  at  the  person  addressed;  "what 
is  the  use  of  beating  around  the  bush  and  gallivant- 
ing away  'round  Robin  Hood's  barn,  (where  the 
d — deuce  that  is  I  don't  know)  before  you  come  to. 
the  question  you  are  so  anxious  to  ask  that  you  can 
hardly  keep  your  lips  from  framing  it?  Now  what 
you  want  to  inquire  about  is  not  little  Hector,  but 
that  overgrown  mass  of  humanity,  my  big  brother 
Herbert,  the  Captain." 

••Now  I  assure  you "  hesitatingly  began  the 

girl,  while  blushes  overspread  her  face  and  neck, 
at  the  home  thrust  of  the  mischievous  bov. 

"Now  don't,  Miss  Helen,  tell  a  fib,  for  there  is 
an  awful  fate  in  store  for  such  as  pervert  the  truth. 
Now,  really,  wouldn't  you  like  to  know  who  sent 
me  here,  and  for  what  ?" 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  219 

What  answer  the  girl  would  have  made  we  know 
not  for,  just  then  a  hasty  footstep  was  heard  near 
her  door,  and  immediately  afterwards  a  knock,  the 
latch  was  raised,  and  Samuel  Pruyter  entered  rath- 
er hurriedly,  in  facl  without  awaiting  permission. 

Helen  was  startled,  not  so  much  at  his  unwar- 
ranted intrusion  as  in  fear  that  the  dwarf  would  be 
discovered.  A  quick  glance  at  the  window,  how- 
ever, relieved  her  of  that  apprehension  for,  quick 
as  had  been  the  entrance  of  young  Pruyter,  a  triffle 
quicker  had  been  the  disappearance  of  the  dwarfs 
head  ;  and  to  cover  the  noise  that  he  must  inevitably 
make  in  his  descent  was  now  the  purpose  of  the 
voung  lady,  as  she  rather  tartly  said  : — 

"Is  this  the  respect,  sir,  due  to  me  in  my  posi- 
tion, either  as  a  lady  or  a  prisoner,  that  my  sleep- 
ing appartment  is  entered  as  freely  and  with  as  lit- 
tle notice  or  ceremony  as  is  a  common  bar-room  ? 
A  very  respectful  suitor  you  have  exhibited  your- 
self, who  should,  by  courtesy  and  kind  attention, 
win  affection,  instead  of  brusqueness  and  incivility 
in  the  common  affairs  of  life." 

The  maiden  spoke  boldly,  for  the  last  ten  min- 
utes had  made  her  bold.  The  very  presence  of 
Hector  Lorimer  argued,  in  her  mind,  that  his  old- 
er brother  was  not  far  distant.  The  words  of  the 
dwarf  had  seemed  to  indicate  that  much  ;  and,  in 
that  proximity  she  was  brave.  We  have  seen  a  wo- 
man weighing  two  hundred  pounds,  with  strength 
to  match  it,  much  scared,  but  reconciled  and  as- 
sured upon  the  approach  of  her  husband,  of  one 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^-^^^-s-*^~>-+^- -^-^•^-^-~~~s^-^-^- 

hundred  and  twenty  pounds  whom  she  could  "han- 
dle," to  use  a  yankeeism,  as  easily  as  she  could  a 
child  of  ten  years  of  age.  So  much  encouragement 
is  there  in  the  nearness  of  one  that  is  loved  ;  for  if 
she  had  not  felt  the  full  force  of  his  protecting  in- 
fluence she  would  not  have  loved  him.  And  fur- 
ther, Helen  Leonard  not  only  felt  that  she  was  safe 
in  body  when  her  friend  was  watching  over  her, 
but  she  had  been  disappointed  in  not  hearing  from 
him,  and  her  present  visitor  was  the  first  person  on 
whom  she  could  vent  the  effects  of  her  failure  of 
expectation  and,  woman  like,  pardon  me,  fair  rea- 
der, if  any  such  I  may  have,  she  meted  out  upon 
him  the  full  benefit  of  her  vexation. 

"You  must  excuse  the  abruptness  and  seeming 
impoliteness  of  my  entrance,  Miss  Leonard,"  said 
the  young  man,  with  something  like  a  quaver  in 
his  voice;  "but  my  father  has  interdicted  my  vis- 
its to  you  and  I  have  taken  advantage  of  his  tempo- 
rary absence  to  make  you  a  call.  Did  you  know 
the  happiness  that  seeing  vou  imparts,  or  the  mise- 
ry your  absence  gives  me,  you  would  surely  forgive 
a  disobedience  to  my  parent  that  is  solely  prompted 
by  my  great  love  for  yourself." 

"And  did  you  take  advantage  of  his  temporary 
absence  to  make  a  target  of  a  human  being  as,  if 
I  am  not  mistaken,  you  did,  some  half-hour  ago?" 

"You  are  greatly  deceived,  Miss  Helen,"  replied 
the  young  man,  without  a  trip  or  stammer  of  his 
ready  tongue,  for  he  was  as  proficient  and  glib  a 
liar  as  was  his  father,  although  there  was  not  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

amount  of  plausibility  in  his  prevarications  that 
characterized  those  of  the  more  finished  villain. 
"The  shot  I  fired  was  at  a  huge  monkev  or  baboon 
that  has  been  around  the  mountain  here,  since  last 
evening  and  has  repeatedly  been  seen  by  the  men. 
Such  an  animal  escaped  from  the  menagerie  that 
visited  Steadville  on  the  dav  before  vesterday  and 
this,  of  course,  is  the  same  one." 

"You  frighten  me,  Mr.  Pruvter,"  exclaimed  the 
girl  who,  in  her  newfound  confidence,  was  inclin- 
ed to  humor  the  man  in  his  mendacity.  "I  shall 
scarcely  sleep  a  wink  after  what  you  tell  me." 

"Oh,  there  is  no  danger.  He  is  probably  fatallv 
wounded,  for  I  heard  him  yell,  and  the  men  that 
I  sent  out  to  examine  the  ground,  found  large  quan- 
tities of  blood,  but  the  monster  had  probably  sec- 
reted himself  among  the  rocks,  where  but  a  short 
time  can  elapse  before  he  must  perish  from  loss  of 
blood.  I  am  verv  proud  to  announce  to  vou,  that 
it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  destroy  an  animal 
which,  doubtless,  would  have  been  a  cause  of  un- 
easiness to  one  for  whom  I  feel  such  an  amount  of 
afte&ion,  that  no  danger  would  be  too  great  for  me 
to  endure  to  ensure  her  peace." 

The  unblushing  effrontery  and  utter  disregard 
for  truth  of  this  unscriptural  Ananias,  was  so  dis- 
gusting to  the  finer  sensibilities  of  the  maiden  that 
it  was  with  an  effort  she  restrained  herself  from 
taunting  him  with  it,  a  course  she  would  most  cer- 
tainlv  have  pursued,  had  her  circumstances  been 
different.  Nor  did  she  fail  to  despise  herself  for 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

s^^^^~^s-~~**~*-^~>->~>-- -^-^x^-x^-. 

adopting  a  similar  style  of  conduct,  in  a  less  deg- 
ree, perhaps,  but  quite  as  reprehensible,  when  the 
higher  law  is  considered  ;  for  she  was  acting  a  lie, 
in  the  smiles  and  tacit  encouragement  she  awarded 
him  in  his  character  of  a  suitor  and  in  impliedly  ac- 
cepting the  addresses  of  one  for  whom  she  enter- 
tained a  most  supreme  contempt.  Yet  she  acted 
on  that  maxim  that  has  been  the  cause  of  much 
evil  in  this  our  erring  world,  that  the  end  justifies 
the  means ;  that  a  little  evil  might  be  done  that  a 
great  good  may  come.  Fear,  and  certainly  had  she 
great  cause  of  fear,  will  prompt  many  an  adt  that 
otherwise  would  never  be  performed ;  a  dread  of 
the  consequences  will  often  force  a  man,  if  not  to 
utter  an  absolute  falsehood,  at  least  to  cover  and 
conceal  the  truth,  then  why  should  a  weak  girl  be 
blamed,  or  blame  herself,  if  she  takes  means,  that 
the  rigid  letter  of  the  law,  under  another  state  of 
affairs,  would  pronounce  within  its  ban,  to  escape 
the  result  of  her  not  fully  considered  act  ? 

While  these  thoughts  were  passing  through  the 
maiden's  mind,  the  object  of  them  sat  with  a  self- 
satisfied  smile  upon  his  face,  and  arrogating  to  him- 
self the  idea  that  his  conferee  was  fully 'struck  with 
his  act  of  heroism  and  self  devotion  to  her  safety 
and  peace  of  mind  ;  and  that  its  consequences  must 
be  an  increase  of  her  affections. 

"I  am  certainly  gratified  for  your  kind  consider- 
ation of  my  pleasure,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  replied  Miss 
Leonard,  and  she  was  yet  acting  her  lie,  notwith- 
standing the  compunctions  of  conscience  attending 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  223 

it,  "and  can  but  feel  that,  not  only  my  personal 
safety,  but  quiet  are  assured  by  your  heroic  a&.." 

"No  thanks  are  due,"  said  Pruyter,  throwing  a 
quick  glance  in  the  speaker's  face,  for  he  thought 
he  detected  the  least  bit  of  sarcasm  in  her  words, 
if  not  in  her  voice.  "To  do  you  any  favor,  at  any 
price,  ever  has,  and  ever  shall  be  my  study ;  for 
how  can  I  ever  repay  you  for  your  kindness  in  re- 
ceiving my  visits  and  of  listening  to  my  suit,"  and 
during  this  speech  he  was  gradually  approaching 
his  chair  to  hers. 

She  had  complacency  enough  to  allow  him  to 
think  she  was  interested  in  him,  but  to  endure  any 
caress  or  familiarity  from  him  she  could  not ;  and 
to  escape  any  such  that  his  actions  and  looks  prog- 
nosticated, she  endeavored  to  change  the  subject 
by  saying : — 

"In  my  situation,  Mr.  Pruyter,  I  have  failed  to 
hear  any  news  of  the  outer  world,  which  to  me,  en- 
dowed as  I  am,  in  a  very  great  degree,  with  that 
natural  charadtistic  of  woman,  curiosity,  proves  to 
be  one  of  my  greatest  deprivations.  Your  oppor- 
tunities of  seeing  and  conversing  with  people  from 
abroad  must  have  enabled  you  to  accumulate  quite 
a  store  of  gossip  of  things  that  have  occurred  since 
my  imprisonment." 

Now  this  remark,  while  it  served  the  purpose  for 
which  it  had  been  introduced,  at  the  same  time, 
gave  Pruyter  the  very  opportunity  he  wished.  In 
fa c\  his  visit  had  been  made  on  purpose,  almost,  to 
tell  her  the  news,  and  he  replied  : — 


224 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


'In  our  secluded  residence  we  hear  but  little  of 
the  transadions  out  of  our  vicinity,  and  certainly 
nothing  occurs  to  me  at  present  of  sufficient  inter- 
est to  be  worth  relating.  Of  course  you  care  but 
little  for  politics,  and  they  appear  to  absorb  the  at- 
tention of  the  public  at  present." 

''Politics?" 

"Yes,"  he  replied.  "The  questions  agitating 
the  country,  that  have  culminated  in  a  useless  and 
unadvised  rebellion." 

"Ah  !  Mr.  Pruyter,"  she  exclaimed,  a  sudden  in- 
terest animating  her  expressive  features ;  "surely 
nothing  could  interest  me  more.  I  am  so  pleased. 
Can  you  give  me  any  intelligence  of  the  progress 
of  the  movement?" 

"The  insurrection  has  been  entirely  put  down  ; 
the  last  organized  band  of  rebels  has  thrown  down 
its  arms  and  dispersed  to  their  homes,  and  to-dav 
not  a  solitary  insurgent  is  in  arms  against  the  gov- 
ernment, and  Her  Majesty's  troops  are  only  enga- 
ged in  apprehending,  trying  and  punishing  the  lea- 
ders. The  rank  and  file,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
are  pardoned  by  proclamation,  conditioned  upon 
their  good  behavior  in  the  future." 

"And  the  leaders,  you  were  about  to  say ?" 

and  surely  she  was  now  interestd,  for  Herbert  Lor- 
imer  had  been  made  a  Captain  while  she  knew 
him  in  Montreal,  but  had  not  been  assigned  to  any 
particular  post,  until  about  the  time  she  had  left, 
to  return  to  her  home.  Naturally  she  would  feel 
more  interest  in  leaders  than  in  the  rank  and  file. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  225 

"Papineau  and  others,  with  praiseworthy  dis- 
cretion, are  refugees  in  the  United  States;  while 
Du  Chillou  and  Lorimer — "  and  he  paused  for  a 
scarcely  perceptible  time  on  the  name  while  an  ex- 
pression of  exultation  was  on  his  face  as  he  did  so, 
"and  one  or  two  others  have  been  arrested,  tried 
and  banished  to  Bermuda,  with  the  further  decree 
of  death,  if  they  are  found  within  the  Canadas,  in 
the  period  during  which  their  sentence  of  banish- 
ment extends." 

A  deathlike  palor  overspread  the  maiden's  coun- 
tenance, chasing  slowly  away  her  naturally  high 
color,  and  she  swayed  in  her  chair  for  a  moment 
or  two,  when  the  glorious  conviction  that  he  was 
a  liar  flashed  across  her  memory,  and  she  gathered 
resolution  to  ask  : — 

•"What,  Herbert  Lorimer,  of  Montreal?" 

"Both  Herbert  and  his  impish  brother,  Heclx>r, 
are  included  in  the  sentence.  They  both  departed 
three  days  since  in  a  man-of-war,  from  Quebec, 
under  a  guard  detailed  from  Col.  Melville's  regi- 
ment. But  you  are  not  well,  Miss  Helen.  Allow 
me  to  procure  you  a  glass  of  water." 

"Do  so,  if  you  please,"  assented  the  girl,  glad 
to  be  relieved  of  his  presence  for  a  season,  on  any 
reasonable  terms. 

He  passed  out,  but  soon  returned  ;  and  he  was 
surprised  at  her  so  sudden  recovery  from  what  had 
appeared  to  be  the  premonitions  of  a  serious  faint- 
ing fit,  but  he  wisely  m  ule  no  remark  upon  the 
circumstance,  and  soon  after,  at  her  request,  took 


226  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

his  departure,  and  did  not  again  return  that  even- 
ing. He  was  better  satisfied  with  his  visit  than  he 
would  have  been  had  he  known  what  thoughts  oc- 
cupied the  girl  after  his  exit. 

\Vhilea  few  uncomfortable  doubts  yet  remained, 
Helen  felt  now  to  bless  the  young  man's  dominant 
propensity,  that  but  an  hour  before  she  had  so  rep- 
rehended ;  for  knowing  that  he  lied  in  part,  as  to 
Hector  Lorimer,  she  consoled  herself  with  the  old 
adage,  false  in  part,  false  in  all,  (some,  perhaps, 
would  have  written  the  apothegm  in  latin,  but  the 
learned  will  understand  it  in  its  English  dress,  and 
the  ignorant  would  fail  to  recognize  its  Roman,) 
that  if  he  had  falsified  in  regard  to  one,  which  her 
recent  interview  with  the  person  in  question,  had 
assured  her  was  a  facl,  and  not  being  of  the  mind 
of  the  uxorious  husband  who  would  believe  the 
word  of  his  wife  before  he  would  the  evidence  of 
his  own  defective  eyes,  he  might  just  as  likely  pre- 
varicate in  the  other,  when  he  had  an  end  in  view. 
So  confident  had  she  soon  become  of  this  state  of 
the  case,  that  Pruyter  had  been  gone  but  a  few  mo- 
ments when  she  laughed  lightly  at  he  former  fears. 
Subdued  as  was  the  audible  manifestation  of  her 
happiness,  it  was  heard  and  echoed  by  a  sigh  at 
her  window. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  227 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

AN    UNAVAILING     EFFORT. 

tN  the  same  evening,  and  at  about  the  same 
hour  in  which  Miss  Helen  Leonard  re- 
ceived company  to  an  extent  far  exceeding 
her  usual  habit  in  her  then  present  situa- 
tion, and  only  some  fifty  rods  distant,  might  have 
been  seen,  did  the  deep  gloom  of  the  night  and  the 
overhanging  crags  allow,  Dodlor  Herbert  Lorimer 
impatiently  waiting  the  return  of  his  trusty  scout, 
whom  he  had  sent  to  deliver  a  letter  to  the  prison- 
er, and  in  which  that  usually  adroit  individual  had 
failed,  as  recorded  in  the  last  chapter. 

Immediately  upon  his  unsuccessful  search,  and 
its  attendant  accidents  and  incidents,  he  had,  in 
company  with  his  brother,  made  a  visit  of  espion- 
age to  the  precincls  of  Copper  Mountain,  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  plausible  old 
man  had  indeed  sent  him  upon  what  the  vulgar  are 
apt  to  term  a  "wild  goose  chase,"  as  had  been, 
most  strenuously  insisted  upon  by  his  brother,  or 
whether  the  fault  had  been  in  himself,  in  not  dis- 
covering where  she  was  residing  in  the  city. 

They  had  gained  his  present  position  by  the  de- 
vious and  somewhat  difficult  road  used  by  Heclor, 
on  a  former  occasion  and,  as  they  hoped  and  to  all 
appearance,  was  the  case,  undiscovered  by  the 
alert  watchers  that  a  reconnoisance  for  the  purpose 
on  the  part  of  the  dwarf,  were  found  yet  posted  at 
the  ordinary  avenues  of  approach,  on  the  evening 


228  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

previous.  While  the  younger  brother,  after  assu- 
ming his  masquerade  dress,  had  departed  for  the 
stone  house  to  endeavor  to  procure  a  sight  of  the 
fair  prisoner,  if  indeed  she  was  there,  the  older 
employed  his  time  in  constructing  a  shelter,  where 
if  necessity  called,  they  might  pass  the  night  com- 
fortably. The  place  seleded  for  this  temporary 
abode  was  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  numerous  ra- 
vines lining  the  mountain,  a  lesser  gully  ;  one  of 
the  cross  wrinkles  in  the  face  of  the  world,  one  of 
Nature's  children,  whose  age  as  written  down,  in 
the  Family  Record  of  Creation,  might  well  war- 
rant all  the  creases  that  Time,  in  his  rapid  flight, 
has  left.  Though  not  so  deep  or  so  long  as  many 
others,  the  precipitous  nature  of  its  sides,  that  like 
some  men,  stood  up  so  straight  that  they  bent  a 
little  back ;  and  the  facl  that  the  position  could  be 
only  approached  from  one  direction,  seemed  to  in- 
dicate the  wisdom  of  the  choice  thev  had  made  for 
the  purpose  for  which  they  occupied  it. 

The  impetuous  and,  in  rare  instances,  choleric 
Captain-Doctor  had,  of  late,  been  a  considerably 
soured  by  his  disappointments  and  ill  luck,  and  he 
had  been  betrayed  into  that  which  had  never  before 
taken  place,  the  saying  of  some  pretty  sharp  things 
to  Hector  ;  but  that  anomalv  of  humanity,  with  his 
great  affedion  for  his  ubig  brother,"  as  he  usually 
called  him,  had  sense  enough  to  consider  that  in- 
dividual's feelings  and  attribute  his  words  to  their 
proper  cause  and  no  disruption  of  the  bond  of  love 
that  had  for  a  lifetime  bound  them,  had  occurred  ; 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  229 

ye:  til -J  mischievous  Hector  could  not  forbear  an  oc- 
casional shot  in  return,  good  natured  but  sarcastic. 
The  scout  of  the  voung  man  had  resulted  in  dis- 
covering the  maiden  in  her  old  room,  but  as  there 
was  considerable  movement  in  and  around  the  es- 
tablishment, he  was  prevented  from  making  his 
presence  known,  which  facts  he  had  duly  reported 
to  Herbert.  The  latter,  during  the  following  day, 
had  written  the  note,  and  when  the  shades  of  eve- 
ning had  sufficiently  closed  in  to  make  the  attempt 
for  its  delivery  advisable,  had  again  sent  his  broth- 
er forward  for  that  purpose,  and  as  before  written, 
was  impatiently  awaiting  his  return. 

Unfortunately  for  the  projects  of  both,  the  sim- 
ulated ape's  first  appearance  had  been  detected  and 
efforts  made  to  trace  him  to  his  hiding  place;  but 
his  actions  had  not  been  so  closely  watched  but  he 
had  accomplished  another  portion  of  his  errand, 
the  delivery  of  a  short  note  from  Herbert  Lorimer 
to  William  H  nvard,  politely  requesting  him  to  see 
the  writer  at  his  earliest  convenience,  at  the  place 
of  his  present  stav. 

Among  the  thousand-ami-  one  subjects  of  reflec- 
tion that  were  tumbling  through  the  doctor's  mind 
while  thus  alone,  another,  and  like  some  unbidden 
guest  at  a  gathering,  where  the  seats  are  already 
filled,  came  stealing  in  which,  when  he  perceived, 
he  was  surprise/;!  had  not  before  appeared.  This 
was  the  fact  of  the  strictness  with  which  all  ap- 
proaches to  the  stone  house  were  so  jealously  guar- 
ded. If  the  proceedings  were  all  legitimate,  why 


230 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


all  this  vigilance?  The  mere  fact  that  Helen  was 
a  prisoner  there  could  not  account  for  it,  especially 
when  all  who  sought  her  release  had  been  so  easi- 
ly and  quietly  disposed  of  by  the  old  man's  plaus- 
sible  lies.  Some  other  reason  must  be  assigned, 
and  he  was  at  a  loss  to  supply  it.  Immediately  be- 
hind this  intruder  came  another  asking  why,  unless 
the  story  at  the  same  time  told  of  her  temporary 
aberation  of  mind  was  true,  was  she  kept  a  prison- 
er at  all?  and  still  another  newcomer  to  the  gath- 
ering came  with  the  question,  what  reason  had  the 
villain  for  deceiving  him  as  well  as  the  bailiffs,  as 
he  evidently  had,  by  his  false  statement  of  her  de- 
parture for  Montreal? 

So  plentiful  and  pertinacious  had  become  the 
inquiries  of  these  uninvited  guests  to  the  gathering 
in  his  brain  that  the  legitimate  occupants  were  all 
entirely  driverf  out  and  the  new  arrivals  held  undis- 
puted svvav  there.  Although  he  had  no  ready  an- 
swer for  anv  they  made  him  uneasy  and  more  than 
ever  resolved  to  penetrate  the  mystery,  at  the  same 
time  he  pursued  his  other  project,  the  rescue  of  the 
maiden  if,  as  he  thought,  he  had  reason  to  believe 
the  old  man  had  perpetrated  a  falsehood,  or  she 
had,  as  that  person  admitted,  recovered  her  equi- 
librium of  mind. 

All  these  thoughts  were  driven  away,  making 
place  for  anxiety  for  his  brother's  safety  when  he 
heard  the  sudden  discharge  of  the  rifle,  the  only 
sound  that  had  reached  him  in  his  seclusion  ;  and 
had  not  his  brother  strictly  enjoined  to  the  contrary 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

he  would  have  made  his  way  to  the  scene  of  the 
firing  to  resolve  his  doubts.  It  was  therefore  with 
a  good  deal  of  uneasiness  that  l\e  waited  fullv  an 
hour  before  he  was  satisfied  bv  the  arrival  of  that 
person  wholly  uninjured,  at  his  waiting  place.  An 
inquiry  as  to  the  cause  and  result  of  the  shot,'  was 
answered  in  the  dwarfs  own  quaint  manner,  to 
which  was  added  his  report  of  his  transactions  dur- 
ing his  last  absence,  in  the  following  terms  : — 

"After  that  gentle  and  discreet  youth,  Samuel, 
had  sent  me  his  compliments  in  the  shape  of  a  rifle 
ball,  and  I  had  acknowledged  their  receipt,  bv  a 
regular  Mohawk  yell,  and  some  of  his  understrap- 
pers were  hunting  for  my  remains,  no  doubt  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  my  hide  to  stuff'  and 'keep  as 
a  curiosity,  I  sidled  away  down  the  road,  crossed 
to  a  clump  of  bushes  on  the  other  side,  and  soon 
made  my  way  to  the  shelter  of  the  building.  The 
coast  being  clear,  I  shinned  up  the  wall  and  was 
soon  in  conversation  with  the  divinity." 

"And  it  was  her,  then?  How  did  she  look  and 
acl?  Was  she  low  spirited  and  pale,  or,  in  spite 
of  their  abuse,  has  she  retained  her  spirits  and  col- 
or?" asked  the  impetuous  young  man,  and  his 
speaking  countenance  told  how  anxiously  he  wait- 
ed the  brother's  reply. 

••Yes.  Blooming  and  rationally.  No.  Xot 
much.  Mostly.  In  a  degree,"  replied  Heclor,  en- 
deavoring to  give  as  many  answers  as  he  had  re- 
ceived questions.  "But  she  was  scarcely  so  ani- 
mated while  conversing  with  me  as  she  was  but  a 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^_^s^-^X-^^- *~^ -^^^-^-*^-*~r^~~^^ 

short  time  afterwards,  when  Samuel  entered  her 
room,  very  much  like  an  old  acquaintance,  without 
rap  or  hesitation,  as  any  privileged  person  would." 

"And  did  you  tell-her ?" 

'•Nothing,"  answered  the  mischievous  and  tan- 
talizihg  dwarf.  "She  didn't  take  the  pains  to  ask  : 
and  our  conversation  was  very  short." 

"What  had  the  villain  to  say  to  her?" 

"I  tarried  but  a  moment,"  said  Hedlor,  "as  the 
straps  soon  began  to  hurt  my  wrists  and  ankles,  so 
I  crept  as  quietly  as  possible  to  the  ground.  I  saw 
Howard,  as  I  made  off,  and  delivered  your  note ; 
but  he  seemed  to  receive  it  as  if  it  had  been  a  note 
alreadv  protested  and  there  were  no  funds  to  meet 
it;  but  hush,  there  is  someone  coming." 

They  were  quickly  hidden  but  immediately  em- 
erged when  they  discovered  that  the  comer  was  the 
expected  William  Howard,  who  advanced,  saying  : 
"I  have  come  at  your  request,  Captain  Lorimer. 
In  what  can  I  assist  you  ?  By  the  tenor  of  your 
short  letter  it  would  seem  that  you  expected,  or  de- 
sired my  assistance  in  some  matter." 

"Partly,  William,  partly,"  responded  Lorimer. 
much  surprised  at  the  coolness  of  the  other,  so 
different  was  it  from  his  manner  at  their  last  meet- 
ing. "I  say  partly,  for  that  is  not  the  whole  of  my 
intention  in  requesting  you  to  meet  me  here.  For 
old  friendship's  sake " 

"You  must  consider,  Captain  Lorimer,  that  im- 
position is  different  from  what  it  was,  when  I  last 
met  you,"  interrupted  the  young  man  with  a  vast 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

amount  of  dignity  in  his  tone  and  manner;  "that 
I  am  now  employed  by  a  different  party,  and  that 
his  interests  are  my  interests  and  the  aid  which  you 
acknowledge  you  wish  at  my  hands,  if  I  am  right 
in  my  opinion,  must  inevitably  conflict  with  them, 
and  is  therefore  against  my  inclination  to  render." 

"I  ask  no  help  that  may  not  honorably  be  giyen, 
Mr.  Howard,"  said  Lorimer,  slightly  afflicted  with 
the  same  feeling  that  seemed  to  actuate  the  other ; 
"nor  did  I  expedite  employ  you  in  an  undertaking 
that  would  militate  against  your  employer's  con- 
cerns. You  was  present  when  I  paid  a  former  and 
more  open  visit  to  Mr.  Pruyterand,  of  course,  must 
have  become  aware  of  my  object,  not  only  at  that 
time,  but  at  present,  in  coming  here." 

"I  am  aware  of  your  object,  Captain,  and — 

"One  moment,  Mr.  Howard,  if  you  please,"  in- 
terrupted Lorimer.  "The  lady  is  one  I  formerly 
met  in  Montreal,  and  formed  for  her  a  deep  and 
sincere  affection.  It  is  but  natural  that  I  should  be 
much  interested  in  her  welfare,  especially  when  I 
am  convinced  that  she  is  detained  against  her  wish- 
es, and  take  all  honorable  means  of  rescuing  her 
from  the  duress.  You,  yourself,  were  a  certain 
lady  with  whom  I  am  slightly  acquainted,  in  the 
same  situation,  would  exert  your  every  nerve  in 
her  behalf,  I  am  convinced,  and  for  this  reason  I 
expected  your  aid." 

"No  doubt  I  should,  Captain  Lorimer,  but  cir- 
cumstances alter  cases,  it  is  said.  If  Mr.  Pruyter 
sees  fit,  as  the  young  lady's  guardian  to  restrain 


234  TIIE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

her,  in  some  measure,  for  some  good  reason  of  his 
mm,  which  it  is  not  my  province  to  question,  it  is 
plainly  my  duty  to  humor  his  fancies  rather  than 
those  of  an  almost  entire  stranger.  As  I  said  be- 
fore, my  employer's  interests  are  mine  and  I  shall 
not  inquire  whether  they  tally  with  my  feelings  or 
not.  I  certainly  do  not  blame  you  for  wishing  to 
free  the  young  lady  from  her  restraint ;  but,  under 
present  circumstances,  I  cannot  help  you." 

"I  am  surprised,  Mr.  Howard " 

"Excuse  me,  Captain,"  interrupted  the  ex-host- 
ler. "I  shall  feel  it  my  duty,  considering  the  con- 
fidence you  have  reposed  in  me,  to  keep  the  facts 
of  this  meeting  and  your  presence  here,  a  secret, 
for  a  sufficient  time  to  allow  you  to  reach  your  home 
and  I  shall  surely  do  so  ;  but  after  that  time  my  du- 
ty to  my  employer  plainly  points  out  that  I  should 
tell  him  that  an  enemy  has  surreptitiously  entered 
on  his  demesnes,  and  that  his  buildings  are  not  free 
from  an  unlawful  espionage;"  saying  which  Wil- 
liam Howard  turned  on  his  heel  and  left. 

••\Vhe-w."  whistled  Hector,  who,  for  the  last 
few  minutes  had  been  gazing  with  wide  open  eyes 
and  mouth  upon  the  speaker,  and  a  comical  look 
of  wonder  gradually  overspreading  his  features. 
"•Well,  they  say  that  some  men  can't  bear  prosper- 
ity; but  I  hardly  think  that  Mr.  William  Howard 
has  any  weakness  on  that  point.  I  wonder  if  this 
saw-horse  hostler  sleeps  in  a  refrigerator,  or  spends 
his  leisure  hours  in  an  ice-house.  Some  such  op- 
peration  he  must  go  through  with  to  make  him  so 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  235 

refreshingly  cool.  A  northwest  wind  in  mid-win- 
ter is  nothing  in  comparison  to  him  to-night." 

"I  am  certainly  astonished  at  his  manner,  for  I 
had  expecled  something  more  genial  and  respon- 
sive, from  past  experience." 

"•And  what  do  you  propose  doing  now?"  asked 
Hector.  "-There  will  be  a  dozen  of  this  mongrel 
crew  down  on  us  in  less  than  an  hour,  without  any 
doubt  and  we  shall  have  to  retreat,  anyway.  As  I 
am  rather  small  and  you  are  rather  large,  hadn't 
we  better  make  tracks'now?  It  will  save  time." 

"Could  our  remaining  here  be  of  any  earthly 
use,"  replied  the  elder  brother,  after  a  moment's 
consideration,  "I  would  see  them  all  sunk  first.  As 
it  is  we  will  go  back  to  where  our  horses  are,  and 
while  you  remain  in  hiding,  I  will  ride  into  this 
viper's  nest  and  in  person  and  by  word  of  mouth, 
demand  the  release  of  the  lady." 

"Well  devised,  most  astute  Ajax.  They  will, 
of  course,  deliver  her  to  you  the  instant  your  wishes 
are  made  known,  with  apologies  for  not  having 
done  so  before." 

"I  hardly  expecl:  they  will  pay  much  attention 
to  my  demands,"  replied  Herbert;  "but  they  will 
understand  that  I  am  determined  to  pursue  them 
until  my  object  is  attained." 

"Yes,  and  watch  her  the  closer  and  guard  her 
the  more  vigilantly  when  they  know  your  purpose." 

"Well,  we  shall  see,"  remarked  Herbert  a  trifle 
impatiently,  as  he  strode  away  in  the  direction  of 
the  path  by  which  they  had  gained  admittance  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  ravine,  near  and  beyond  which  their  animals 
were  securely  tethered. 

In  less  than  an  hour  from  that  time  Captain  Lor- 
imer  rode  up  the  rugged  path  leading  to  the  stone 
house,  regaled  in  his  course  by  the  usual,  but,  on 
this  occasion,  less  numerous  but  more  distinct  hoot- 
ings  of  the  counterfeit  owls.  Springing  lightly  to 
the  ground  near  the  door,  and  flinging  the  loop  of 
his  bridle  over  a  post,  he  boldlv  advanced  to  the 
opened  door  in  which  the  elder  Pruyter  stood,  ap- 
parently awaiting  his  coming. 

"Good  evening.  Doctor  Lorimer,"  said  the  pol- 
ished old  villain,  extending  his  hand  in  a  friendly 
manner.  "You  ride  late." 

"My  business  is  of  a  nature  that  knows  neither 
late  nor  early  hours,"  rejoined  Lorimer,  somewhat 
brusquely,  ignoring  the  hand. 

"And  what  may  that  be,  if  with  me?"  demand- 
ed Pruyter,  blandly,  though  there  was  a  slight  sar- 
casm in  his  tones.  "In  anything  in  which  my  poor 
services  can  warrantably  be  rendered,  they  are  at 
your  command.  Will  you  come  in?" 

"Without  circumlocution  or  evasion,  Mr.  Pruy- 
ter," exclaimed  Lorimer,  not  accepting  the  invita- 
tion. "I  have  come  for  the  same  purpose  that 
called  me  here  on  a  former  occasion,  the  uncondi- 
tional release  of  Miss  Helen  Leonard;  or  at  least, 
an  undisturbed  and  un watched  interview  with  her." 

"And  by  what  authority  do  you  make  your  mod- 
est demand,  Doftor  Lorimer?"  asked  the  old  man, 
with  a  slight,  but  gentlemanly  sneer. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  237 

"By  that  authority  delegated  to  all  feeling  men, 
when  innocence  suffers,"  replied  Herbert  prompt- 
ly;  "and  by  the  still  further  warrant  of  my  affec- 
tion for  her,  that  gives  a  better  authority  than  that 
of  a  self-constituted  guardian." 

"You  are  unjustifiably  seyere  in  your  remarks, 
sir,"  rejoined  Pruyter ;  "and  I  must  question  your 
right,  so  long  as  might  is  against  you.  Candidly, 
the  maiden's  health  at  present,  will  not  warrant  an 
interview,  much  less  a  removal,  and  by  my  author- 
ity as  her  legal  guardian,  made  so,  not  only  by  be- 
ing the  former  husband  of  her  dead  mother,  but  by 
decree  of  court,  that  you  in  your  impetuosity  and 
unreasonableness  term  self-constituted,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  refuse  both  your  requests." 

"You  have  deceived  me  before,  Mr.  Pruyter, 
and  may  be  deceiving  me  in  this,"  heatedly  said 
the  young  man,  for  he  was  fast  losing  his  temper. 

"Deceived  you,  sir?     In  what,  pray:" 

"You  told  me  she  had  gone  to  Montreal,  and  i 
know  that  she  is  within  the  walls  of  this  building, 
at  this  very  moment." 

"Is  it  not  possible  that  you  are  mistaken,  Dr. 
Lorimer?"  inquired  the  old  man,  quietly.  "Did 
I  not  say  started  for  Montreal  ?" 

"Perhaps  so,  but  in  what  lies  the  difference?" 

"The  question  whether  I  deceived  you  or  not," 
replied  he,  plausibly.  "That  she  did  not  go  to 
Montreal,  I  willingly  admit,  but  that  she  started,  I 
claim.  After  riding  a  few  miles  in  the  stage,  her 
malady  of  mind,  that  we  all  supposed  fully  cured. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

attacked  her  with  more  violence  than  before,  and 
she  was  at  once  returned  to  this  place  ;  since  which 
time  she  has  been  slowly  recuperating,  under  the 
best  of  care.  Any  undue  excitement  may  again 
unbalance  her  reason  and  make  her  permanently 
insane,  which  we  all  most  devoutly  pray  may  not 
occur." 

"Are  you  telling  me  the  truth,  Mr.  Pruyter?" 
asked  the  bewildered  Lorimer,  in  spite  of  himself 
influenced  by  this  well-told  lie. 

"Why  should  you  doubt  my  word,  sir?" 

"I  know  not  why,  unless  it  be  a  conviction  for 
which  I  cannot  account,"  replied  Lorimer,  then  re- 
membering Hector's  report,  his  doubts  were  more 
fully  revived  and  he  continued  :  "I  must,  in  just- 
ice to  my  own  feelings,  see  the  young  lady  ;  at  how- 
great  a  distance  I  care  not,  but  that  I  see  her  is  all 
sufficient." 

"It  would  not  be  best." 

"As  a  physician  I  could  pass  as  good  if  not  a 
better  judgement  upon  her  condition,  than  many 
doctors  who  have  not  had  my  opportunities  of  study 
and  observation,"  almost  pleaded  the  Captain,  so 
much  were  his  feelings  enlisted. 

"It  would  not  be  best,"  repeated  Pruyter. 

At  this  instant  a  small  piece  of  paper  fluttered 
down  through  the  darkness,  and  fell  at  Herbert's 
feet.  It  could  not  have  come  from  Helen's  window 
for  that  wa^  at  the  end  of  the  house,  and  the  door 
at  which  the  foregoing  colloquy  had  taken  place, 
was  at  one  side  and  nearer  the  opposite  end.  The 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  239 

man  saw  it  at  the  same  time,  and  with  a  quick  mo- 
tion attempted  to  sieze  it  but  it  being  nearer  to  the 
doctor  he  caught  it  first  and,  by  the  light  from  the 
lamp  shining  through  the  doorway  distinctly  read  : 

"What  he  tells  you  is  false,  but  you  cannot  aid 
me.  HELEN." 

Crushing  the  missive  in  his  hand  before  the  oth- 
er had  discovered  a  word,  Lo rimer  turned  to  his 
opponent  and  with  some  fierceness  in  his  manner, 
said  :— 

"I  much  misdoubt  you,  old  man,  and  I  demand 
an  instant  interview  with  Miss  Leonard." 

•'And  !_ refuse,"  answered  Pruyter,  politely  but 
firmly. 

'•Then,  by  the^Living  Lord,  I  will  force  my  way 
to  her  in  spite  of  your  refusal !"  and  the  impulsive 
voung  man  drew  a  pistol  from  his  breast,  and  ad- 
vanced across  the  threshhold. 

"I  entreat  you  to  pause,  Doctor  Lorimer,"  and 
now  there  was  a  full  blown  sneer  upon  the  old  vil- 
lain's face  and  in  his  voice  as  he  spoke ;  and  quiet- 
ly stepping  aside,  he  disclosed  to  the  astonished 
eves  of  the  enraged  young  man  four  stout  men 
blocking  the  wav  with  levelled  muskets,  their  dark 
muzzles  staring  him  in  the  face.  Noting  the  Cap- 
tain's involuntary  hesitation,  Pruyter  continued : 
"I  entreat  you  to  pause,  for  to  advance  is  certain 
death.  These  men  have  my  orders,  and  thev  will 
.obey  them  to  the  letter.  They  are  to  shoot  you  to 
death  if  you  make  anv  violent  attempt  to  pass  them 
or  to  offer  any  injury  to  anv  person  present.  Look 


240 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


at  them  well,  Doctor  Lorimer.  Do  they  look  as  if 
they  would  flinch  in  obeying  me;  me  whose  bread 
they  eat  and  whose  money  pays  them  most  liberal- 
ly for  their  services?  Think  not  I  fear  the  conse- 
quences, Captain  Lorimer,  for  I  know  you  by  that 
title.  By  the  late  proclamation  of  Governor  Dur- 
ham, while  it  pardoned  the  rank  and  file  of  the  late 
insurrection,  its  leaders  are  made  outlaws,  and  he 
who  shoots  them  down  on  sight  on  Canadian  soil, 
would  be  praised  rather  than  blamed.  And  furth- 
er, Doctor  Lorimer,  we  might  well  capture  you 
and  secure  the  reward  for  your  apprehension,  that 
is  offered  by  the  government ;  but  if  vou  choose  to 
retire,  well  and  good ;  we  seek  no  quarrel  with 
vou.  If  you  do  with  us,  the  consequences  be  on 
your  own  head." 

It  was  well,  perhaps,  for  Herbert  Lorimer,  that 
old  Pruyter  made  so  long  a  speech  for,  while  he 
was  a  man  who  seldom  counted  the  odds  against 
him  in  a  fight,  he  was  not  so  foolhardy  as  to  plunge 
into  certain  death  when  his  blood  was  cool  enough 
to  permit  him  to  reason.  In  his  first  blind  rage,  he 
might  have  made  the  attack  and  met  its  inevitable 
sequel,  but  while  the  old  man  talked,  he  had  time 
for  a  second  thought  and  saw  that  an  immolation 
of  himself  would  in  no  way  further  his  purpose. 
Accordingly,  although  his  blood  boiled  and  a  deep 
suffusion  rushed  to  his  face,  he  made  a  virtue  of 
his  necessity  and  gave  over  his  attempt  with  all  the 
grace  he  could  muster  under  the  circumstances. 

"I  acknowledge  myself  beaten,  Mr.  Pruvter,  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  241 

as  y.m  s.iy  might  is' on  your  sLl^,  at  this  time;  but 
heed  my  words.  [  do  not  relinquish  my  purpose. 
If  reasonable  demands  and  the  civil  laws  of  Cana- 
da arc  neither  of  avail,  I  II  Vv  the  virtue  of  hard 
'.•  -.  If  Miss  Leonard  is  n<.t  released,  and  that 

.1  will  come  with  force  enough  to  make  my 
demands  good  !" 

While  saving  this  he  had  reluctantly  mounted 
his  hor-e.  and  n<>\\  sat  glowe-iiv;  fiercely  down  in 
the  old  in:m's  face. 

"The  demands  of  to-nighi.  Doctor  Lorimer," 
rejoined  Prmter.  as  |»  >!i(  -!v  as  c^er,  "have  been 
far  from  reasonable.  ')•'  th~  civil  laws  due  notice 
shall  be  takv-n  and  due  'aid  ;  but  if  it  be 

really  \  ith  a  strong  force, 

an  intimation  toll  .  ill  be  made  to  Captain 

Stanrield  wh.-.  w  \\ouldbe  most  hap- 

py t  pos<  -ii  iit  his  regulars  in  my  fort,  espe- 

•  cially  w!u  i  -nc  so  much  desired  as 

your  owri  .  i;s  a  visit." 

Maddened  and  beaten  at  every  point,  Captain 
Lorimer  spoke  not  another  word,  but  putting  spurs 
to  his  horse,  he  galloped  recklesslv  away. 

When  he  had  joined  Hector,  in  his  place  of  con- 
cealment, and  lia  v  his  importunate  inqui- 
ries had  re  "  his  mission,  with  di- 
vers exclan;;,  '  re  more  emphatic  than 
polite,  he  receive  :  >n,  that  remark  so 
often  made  bv  officious  friends  who  have  proven 
the  truth  of  their  ;•  ci  s  vil  or  misfortune  : 
••I  told  von  so!'- 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    LABORS    OF    A  BUSY    BRAIN. 

;HE  persistent  Captain  Lorimer,  departed, 
defeated  in  ail  his  plans,  the  old  man  Pruy- 
ter  retired  to  his  room.  To  his  really  able 
mind,  subtle  and  strong  by  nature  strength- 
ened and  trained  by  education  and  by  his  inter- 
course with  mankind  in  all  of  its  phases,  it  was 
becoming  plain  that  his  race  was  nearly  run,  unless 
some  strong  measures  were  adopted  to  rid  himself 
of  the  dangers  menacing  him.  That  the  impetu- 
ous and  energetic  Doctor  Lorimer  would  tamely 
sit  down  under  his  defeat  of  the  night,  he  was  well 
assured  was  one  of  the  impossibilities.  Had  he  no 
other  incentive  than  revenge  for  his  failure,  Pruy- 
ter  well  knew  his  efforts  would  not  cease ;  but 
prompted  by  that  strongest  of  all  passions,  love, 
he  was  aware  no  defeat,  no  repulse,  while  his  life 
lasted  would  make  him  hesitate  a  single  moment 
in  his  career.  The  simple  arrest  arid  banishment 
of  that  person  would  be  but  gaining  time,  and  but 
short  at  that,  for  to  his  genius  the  bolts  and  bars 
of  Bermuda  would  be  as  naught,  and  ere  a  month 
or  weeks,  perhaps,  he  would  be  again  his  tormen- 
ting incubus. 

And  then  the  espionage  to  which  his  domicile 
was  surely  destined  must,  sooner  or  later,  reveal 
the  greater  crimes  there  perpetrated,  and  with  such 
a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  an  untiring  enemy,  his 
destruction  was  certain.  It  would  not  do  to  release 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  243 

the  girl  to  his  care,  for  he  had  no  confidence  in  any 
pledge  of  secrecy  which  she  might  give  and  while 
she  lived  the  sword  of  Democles  would  be  swung 
above  his  head  by  a  weakness  to  which  a  single 
hair  would  be  a  chain  cable  in  comparison  ;  that 
less  than  a  breath  would  bring  crushing  down  up- 
on him. 

The  girl,  to,  fully  aware  of  his  ^depths  of  sin, 
and  only  waiting  her  liberty  to  bring  the  officers 
of  justice  down  upon  him.  She  had  always  hated 
him  and  some  disclosures,  made  by  her  mother  to 
her,  on  her  death  bed,  of  the  nature  of  which,  he 
was  not  informed  but  of  the  tenor  of  which  he  had 
-formed  an  opinion,  had  added  much  to  that  feeling 
of  aversion,  and  he  was  not  safe  for  one  single  in- 
stant with  her  alive  or,  at  least,  capable  of  cohe- 
rent speech.  Once  she  had  escaped,  how,  he  did 
not  know,  but  had  attributed  it  to  the  carelessness 
of  some  one  in  leaving  her  door  unfastened,  and 
of  which  she  had  taken  advantage.  Of  the  swing- 
ing grating  he  knew  nothing.  As  the  wife  of  his 
son,  Samuel,  and  bound  by  the  fearful  oath  of  the 
gang,  he  had  no  confidence  in  her.  Her  death  was 
iiis  only  salvation,  and  that  must  be  accomplished 
at  all  haz/ards. 

To  assure  himself  in  his  charge  of  her,  on  the 
morrow  there  was  to  sit  in  the  stone  house,  a  com- 
mission of  lunacy,  that  with  well  trained  witness- 
es, a  corrupted  physician  and  a  justice,  body  and 
soul  his,  the  verdict  was  foregone ;  but  this  only 
put  oft",  for  a  little  season,  the  fall  of  the  suspended 


blade.  A  i  i:l-i  be,  with 

,crt  L  '<'••  ini;  to  toil  him 

at  every  turn  ;  an u  dope  to  always 

conquer  him  a*  e;i>ilv  as  he  did  an  h.»ur  ago. 

Death  to  the  innocent  girl  seemed  his  only  hope. 
And  how  to  hide  it:  He  would  trust  to  luck  for 
that.  Once  before  had  he  artfully  substituted  one 
for  another  and  no  discovery  had  been  the  result. 
But  he  had  tried  once  to  poison  her,  and  she  had, 
apparently,  unsuspiciously  imbibed  the  beverage 
containing  the  deadly  draught,  and  it  seemed  to 
have  no  perceptible  effect  upon  her.  Perhaps  the 
drug  had  lost  its  strength,  become  exchanged,  may- 
be. He  had  thought  of  that,  too;  had  examined 
what  remained  and  had  closely  questioned  Maggie 
as  to  whether  the  prisoner  had  drinked  the  tea. 
Both  examinations  had  proved  satisfactory. 

The  decree  of  death  passed  upon  the  girl  bv  the 
gang,  when  under  the  sudden  smart  of  discovery, 
and  instant  fear  of  exposure  was  no  warrant  for  the 
execution  of  the  judgement.  Her  death  would  be 
simply  murder,  under  win  circumstances  it 

was  d<  >  ;: •.-,'  hoped,  no 

other  woi  ...  do  it  by 

his  o\\  M  by  fate 

uld  he 
..eat  law 

°f  "at;  his  own. 

was  just- 
- ilvt-d  upon:  a 
t"  which  his  iears  hail  fed  him. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Cjuld  hs  do  it  at  once?  No,  he  must  wait  un- 
til the  flurry,  the  excitement,  the  novelty  of  her 
being  kept  a  prisoner  should  die  away,  as  all  nine 
days  wonder  do  die  away  ;  wait  until  the  affair  was 
forgotten,  save  as  a  memory;  and  in  the  meantime 
watch,  and  wait,  and  tremble. 

And  how  as  to  Lorimer?  He  must  die,  too  ! — 
When  he  had  coolly  decided  upon  one  murder,  an- 
other came  more  easily.  If  he  was  to  be  detected 
and  hung,  they  could  not  hang  him  a  second  time 
for  a  second  homicide.  But  in  this  case  there  was 
a  difficulty.  While  the  girl  could  be  removed  and 
no  questions  asked,  for  none  would  miss  her,  he 
could  not  be  an  hour  absent  beyond  his  allotted 
time  without  inquiries  being  made.  He  would 
have  left  word,  no  doubt,  where  he  was  going,  he 
would  be  traced  to  the  stone  house,  and  not  away. 
He  could  conceal  the  body— that  would  be  easy — 
but  how  account  for  its  absence?  With  tracks  go- 
ing to,  and  none  from  a  place,  and  man  being  with- 
out wings,  he  must  be  somewhere  there  vet.  But 
stop,  the  busy  brain  has  solved  the  problem. 

Some  people  have  a  faculty  of  disposing  of  mo- 
mentous matters  with  easy  facility.  Kings  have 
sentenced  victims  to  death  by  a  beck,  and  pardon- 
ed others  with  a  nod  ;  then  why  should  not  this 
one-headed,  but  more  than  an  hundred-handed, 
Briareus  dispose  of  two  such  simple  objects  as  Hel- 
en and  Herbert. Lorimer,  with  but  a  resolve?  He 
had  done  so,  but  his  hands  were  not  fully  cleaned 
when  they  were  out  of  them. 


346  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

William  Howard  was  a  problem  not  so  easily 
solved.  While  the  two  nnlucky  one's  fate  had  been 
so  readily  fixed,  his  was  not  so  easily  managed  ; 
while  they  were  a  menace  he  was  merely  an  en- 
cumbrance;  while  they  threatened,  he  bothered. 
It  is  true  that  an  eve  that  never  yet  failed  had  been 
foiled  for  once  ;  for  with  the  keenest  glances  that 
eve  had  scanned  the  face  and  form  of  the  new  man 
and  watched  his  slightest  motion  since  he  had  been 
at  Copper  Mountain,  with  an  intentness  that  was 
worthy  of  better  success.  While  the  commonality 
of  the  other  laborers  were  uneducated  and  unintel- 
ligent, though  in  some  instances  possessing  a  rare 
cunning,  a  sort  of  low  shrewdness,  quite  essential 
to  their  position,  Howard  appeared  both  talented 
and  learned,  above  his  status;  with  no  indications 
of  being  a  lover  of  drink,  that  brings  many  a  man 
of  brightness  to  association  with  the  vile. 

He  had  said  that  his  determination  was  to  obtain 
money,  to  get  a  competence  that  would  enable  him 
to  marry  and  to  settle  down  ;  but  it  seemed  that 
one  of  his  abilities  might  attain  his  end  at  a  lighter 
cost.  The  old  man  had  been  suspicious  from  the 
first,  and  had,  in  Howard's  absence,  examined  his 
valise,  his  cast  oft'  clothing,  and  even  his  everyday 
suit,  by  first  ensuring  his  sleep  by  a  very  mild  opi- 
ate and  by  stealing  into  his  room  and  searching  his 
pockets.  This  was  in  no  way  different  from  his 
course  with  all,  for  he  was  determined  his  domicile 
should  harbor  no  traitor  for  want  of  the  strictest 
vigilance.  He  had  gone  farther.  On  a  recent  visit 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  247 

made  by  Howard  to  Steadville,  where  he  had  been 
summoned  as  a  witness,  he  was  carefully  watched, 
but  no  sign  had  been  discovered  of  any  disposition 
or  intent  to  betray  him.  He  had  noticed,  too,  the 
receipt  of  Lorimer's  letter  by  the  dwarfs  hands, 
and  had  followed  and  was  an  ear-witness  of  the 
meeting  of  his  man  and  Lorimer  and,  of  course, 
understood  that  he  was,  to  the  last,  faithful  ;  for  in 
that  secluded  glen  far,  as  he  might  suppose,  from 
all  espionage,  he  would  have  spoken  his  mind  free- 
ly, if  ever.  And  the  schemer  was  satisfied. 

As  Pruyter  arrived  at  this  conclusion  he  thought 
of  a  certain  letter  in  his  possession,  arid  taking  it 
from  his  pocket,  he  read  it  again.  It  was  plainly 
written,  but  with  pencil,  on  a  sheet  of  letter  pa- 
per and  was  much  creased  by  having  been  tied  to 
the  pebble  and  the  old  man  spread  it  on  his  knee, 
and  smoothed  it  with  his  hand.  He  had  been  pa- 
cing the  room  for  the  last  hour,  but  now  he  seated 
himself  with  his  back  to  a  window  and  after  adjus- 
ting his  eye-glasses  and  moving  the  lamp  a  little 
nearer,  read  as  follows  : — 

''DEAR  Miss  HELEN  : — 

I  use  a  term  that  is  perhaps  unwarranted, 
but  my  love  must  be  my  excuse.  When  you  left 
Montreal  so  suddenly,  I  used  every  effort  to  learn 
your  whereabouts,  and  finally  ascertained  that  you 
resided  near  Steadville.  I  was  assigned  to  a  com- 
mand at  that  place,  whence  I  wrote  but  received 
no  answer.  Bv  a  mere  accident  I  have  discovered 
your  present  place  of  residence,  if  it  is  a  residence. 


248  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

I  have  also  been  informed  both  by  word  of  mouth 
and  my  own  suspicions  that  you  are  held  against 
your  wishes.  If  this  be  so  I  would  know  it  and, 
believe  me.  if  untiring  energy  prompted  by  most 
ardent  afieclion,  can  accomplish  your  release,  you 
shall  be  free.  If  any  undue  restraint  is  exercised, 
arid  you  would  break  it,  you  can  apply  to  William 
Howard  who  is  my  friend,  and  I  am  satisfied  will 
take  all  proper  means  of  informing  me  of  your  de- 
sires, and  of  assisting  vou  to  escape.  You  mav  put 
full  trust  in  him.  I  send  this  by  Hector  wfho,  from 
his  agility  and  fearlessness,  is  well  adapted  to  the 
task  and  I  pray  you,  Helen,  to  send  an  answer  bv 
him,  stating  fully  your  wishes  and  though  the  hea- 
vens fall,  I  will  come  to  your  aid.  Should  you  fail 
to  communicate  with  Heclor,  vou  can  give  a  line 
to  Howard,  who  will  forward  it  to  me ;  and  I  beg 
of  you  to  trust  as  implicitly  in  one  who,  though 
almost  a  stranger  and  has  never  told  his  love,  as 
you  would  in  one  who  has  always  be^n  a  friend  ; 
for  he  only  waits  an  opportunity  to  throw  himself 
at  your  feet,  and  offering  to  assume  that  relation, 
yes,  and  a  dearer  one  for  life. 

Ever  and  faithfully  yours, 

HERBERT. 

Having  perused  this  epistle,  the  old  man  again 
deposited  it  in  his  pocket,  removed  his  glasses,  rose 
to  his  feet  and,  for  the  first  time  making  his  medi- 
tations audible,  for  he  seldom  babbled  much,  and 
was  but  rarely  given  to  soliloquies,  said  :— 

"William  Howard  is  his  friend,  so  he  savs.  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  249 

she  mav  put  implicit  confidence  in  him.  He  will 
assist  her  to  escape,  will  he?  How  you  must  have 
been  disappointed,  Air.  Doctor,  Captain  Lorimer, 
when  he  repudiated  the  debt  of  friendship.  And 
you  love  her,  do  .you  ?  Well,  perhaps  there  may 
be  something  in  love  after  all.  It,  at  least,  has  suf- 
ficient power  to  make  fools  of  otherwise  sensible 
men,  and  none  more  so  than  you,  my  dear  sir,  my 
very  dear  sir,"  and  a  diabolical  grin  danced  over 
his  features  as  he  spoke. 

Howard  had  been  Lorimer' s  friend,  no  doubt, 
but  his  new  relations  had  changed  the  old.  Was 
not  this  manifest  from  the  young  man's  reply  to  his 
request.  But  hold  !  Did  not  Howard  know  that 
lie  was  followed  and  frame  his  speech  accordingly  ? 
Impossible.  He  neither  hesitated,  looked  around 
or  changed  a  muscle  in  his  face  on  his  way  there; 
nor  stammered  or  winked  to  his  friend  when  the 
conversation  was  held.  Yes,  Howard  was  true  to 
his  trust,  but  vet  he  was  suspicious.  May  not  the 
cause  of  this  have  been  his  naturally  overstrained 
caution?  -Maybe;  but  he  could  not  divest  himself 
of  the  feeling  of  uneasiness  in  his  presence.  He 
had  a  constant  foreboding  of  evil,  and  as  he  had 
already  obtained  all  that  the  young  man  had  to  com- 
municate, what  further  use  had  he  for  him,  would 
it  not  be  better  to  let.  him  go?  He  could  a  fiord  to 
recompense  him  amply,  not  only  for  the  heroic  acl 
of  saving  his  life  and  for  the  really  very  useful  se- 
crets he  had  imparted,  but  the  loss  of  his  situation, 
and  then  the  presentiment  of  misfortune  that,  turn 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

these  matters  as  lu  w.rjiJ,  he  c.)uid  n.)i  riJ  himself 
of,  would  gradually  wear  out,  or  depart. 

Presentiment  I  Tnere  is  something'  in  the  feel- 
ing thus  denominated,  more  than  is  usually  ac- 
knowledged. Have  you  never  felt,  when  you  have 
received  a  letter,  at  its  first  touch  upon  your  fingers 
that  it  contains  unwelcome  news?  Have  you  nev- 
er experienced  the  sensation,  when  entering  an  as- 
sembly, that  you  are  in  presence  of  an  enemy,  even 
before  you  see  him?  Have  you  never  waited  im- 
patiently the  arrival  of  bad  tidings  that  you  know 
will,  and  does  come?  A  good  soldier,  a  corpoaal 
in  our  company  in  the  late  rebellion,  often  told  the 
writer  that  he  would  be  the  first  man  in  the  com- 
mand that  would  be  killed,  was  the  first  to  be  hit 
by  rebel  bullets,  on  the  fatal  i6th  day  of  April, 
1862,  at  Lee's  Mills,  and  though  he  lived  for  three 
days,  during  which  time,  twelve  others,  subsequent- 
ly struck,  had  died,  passed  away,  the  first  killed. 
as  he  had  always  claimed,  though  not  the  first  to 
die.  On  another  occasion,  another  good  soldier, 
when  forming  for  a  desperate  charge,  sa-id  that  he 
should  never  come  back  alive.  Hi  did  not.  The 
first  regular  volley  verified  his  presencim^a;. 

It  is  true  there  are  many  forebodings  of  evil  that 
are  never  realized.  .O."  these  we  remember  noth- 
ing; but  there  are  scores  of  cases  where  they  are 
followed  by  injury  :  and  these  we  have  cause  never 
to  forget.  Is  it  not  possible  that  all  are  warned,  in 
a  plainer  or  more  questionable  manner,  of  danger 
that  awaits  us  in  the  highway  of  life  ;  that  >ome 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

spirit,  maybe  of  some  friend  on  the  other  shore, 
whispers  to  our  innermost  sensibility,  some  sense 
more  acute  and  appreciative  than  the  five  awarded 
to  the  body,  when  misfortune  threatens?  It  would 
be  no  deadly  sin  so  to  believe.  Man's  life,  next  to 
his  soul,  is  hivS  dearest  treasure,  with  many  the  most 
prized,  and  is  it  strange,  then,  that  so  long  as  some 
have  undeniably  possessed  the  power  of  foretelling 
events,  that  all  should  have,  more  or  less,  of  the 
same  ability,  where  so  much  is  at  stake?  As  the 
subject  is  much  deeper  than  our  metaphysical  re- 
searches have  extended,  we  will  leave  it  to  more 
able  pens,  beg  pardon  for  the  lengthy  digression, 
and  resume  the  thread  of  our  storv. 

However  kindly  the  old  man  felt,  if  anv  such 
emotion  had  ever  entered  his  breast,  for  the  voung 
man  that  had  saved  his  life  at  the  risk  of  his  own, 
his  nature  was  one  to  pav  for  such  a  favor  in  mon- 
ey, and  the  account  balanced,  he  would  feel  little 
compunction  in  sacrificing  him  to  the  great  law  of 
nature.  Reallv  in  self-preservation,  would  it  not 
be  allowable  for  him  to  use  the  one  to  destroy  the 
other,  like  the  western  prairie-man,  who  was  men- 
aced in  the  rear  by  a  bloodhound  and  in  front  by 
a  panther,  and  quietly  stepping  aside  had  left  the 
two  animals  to  vent  their  choler  upon  each  other, 
while  he  took  advantage  of  the  combat  that  resul- 
ted, to  secure  his  own  retreat.  This  simile,  deal- 
reader,  is  not  original,  being  taken  from  one  of  those 
orange  hued  specimens  of  modern  literature,  price 
ten  cents,  remarkable  for  having  an  alliterative  title. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

one  hundred  pages,  great  originality  of  plot,  and 
desirable  denouements,  called  "The  Ranting  Red- 
skin ;  or  The  Cannibals  of  the  Canebrake  :  a  Tale 
of  Terrible  Troubles  on  the  Texan  Trail." 

To  accomplish  this  seemed,  after  some  further 
consideration,  feasible.  He  must  foster  the  cold- 
ness already  existing,  and  by  some  well-concocted 
and  plausible  tale,  nourish  its  growth  into  animos- 
itv.  Both  the  voung  men,  he  was  satisfied,  were 
brave  and  had  a  sufficient  amount  of  the  so  called 
chivalry  in  their  compositions  to  warrant  him  in 
believing  that  an  open  quarrel  would  result  in  such 
a  meeting  as  would  rid  him  of  both.  Should  one 
or  the  other  be  killed,  of  course  that  one  was  dis- 
posed of  and  the  remaining  one  compelled  to  seek 
safety  in  flight.  Even  should  neither  fall,  the  laws 
of  the  country  were  so  stringent  against  duelling, 
that  they  would  both  be  obliged  to  fly  or  suffer  a 
long  imprisonment,  which  they  would  be  under  the 
necessity  of  doing.  This  plan  was,  without  doubt, 
somewhat  far-fetched,  but  he  thought  he  knew  en- 
ough of  the  dispositions  of  his  bloodhound  and 
panther  to  be  assured  of  his  purpose. 

The  devil  is  ever  an  indulgent  father  to  his  many 
children,  for  a  season  and,  as  the  old  scoundrel's 
time  had  not  yet  come,  and  he  was  so  good  a  child. 
his  satanic  majesty  had  ready  to  his  hand  the  very 
inducement  to  a  quarrel,  of  all  others,  that  would 
suit  the  end  to  be  attained.  A  certain  Captain 
Blake,  a  young  man  from  the  southern  part  of  Ver- 
mont, who  had  been  put  in  charge  of  the  cannon 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

and  men  who  were  to  reinforce  Lorimer's  compa- 
ny as  related  by  that  individual  to  his  companions 
on  the  night  of  Captain  Stanfield's  attack  on  the 
haystack,  having  learned  of  the  disbanding  of  the 
patriots,  had  dismissed  his  own  men,  and,  for  a 
season,  had  remained  at  Col.  Carpenter's  hotel,  for 
the  purpose  of  watching  the  ebb  and  flow  of  events. 
He  had  become  acquainted  with  Miss  Hetty,  the 
Colonel's  daughter,  and  so  vigorous  had  been  his 
falling  in  love  and  subsequent  courtship,  that  they 
were  soon  to  be  married.  In  the  last  Steadville 
Journal  an  intimation  of  the  facl  had  been  given, 
in  the  usual  ambiguous  terms  of  certain  papers,  in 
such  cases.  Pruyter  turned  to  his  copy  of  that 
sheet,  lying  on  the  table,  and  read  : — 

"Ox  DIT.  We  are  informed  by  that  ancient 
gossip,  Dame  Rumor,  that  there  is  a  wedding  on 
the  tapis,  between  a  certain  gallant  captain,  ambi- 
tious to  have  had  the  name  of  being  one  of  the  lib- 
erators of  Canada  ;  but  whom  the  recent  Procla- 
mation of  Gov.  Durham,  unfortunately  left  with- 
out any  men  to  help  him,  and  a  daughter  of  one  of 
our  most  popular  landlords,  an  hour's  drive  south 
of  the  line.  May  his  new  command  be  less  moved 
by  proclamations  than  the  last,  and  his  success  in 
the  matrimonial,  be  more  to  his  wishes,  than  in  the 
military  line." 

Pruyter  had  really  thought,  at  first,  from  its  ten- 
or, that  this  paragraph  had  reference  to  the  parties 
under  his  own  consideration,  but  in  an  interview  he 
had  held  with  Heath  that  day  he  \\  as  undeceived  ; 


yet  he  was  determined  to  put  his  original  construct- 
ion upon  it.  for  the  purpose  he  had  in  contempla- 
tion. Taking  the  paper,  therefore,  in  his  hand  he, 
after  pouring  down  a  large  glass  of  brandy,  went 
into  the  common  room. 

It  was  already  late,  but  several  of  the  men  were 
still  there,  among  whom  was  Howard  just  finish- 
ing a  game  of  chess  with  the  ; •gentlemanly  stran- 
ger." 

"Ah,  boys,"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  in  a  cheer- 
ful tone  and  with  an  oily  smile  that  but  little  indi- 
cated the  severe  mental  struggle  he  had  undergone 
for  the  last  two  or  three  hours ;  "it  seems  that  our 
bellicose  visitor  has  not  disturbed  your  sports  by 
his  threats.  That  should  ever  be  the  way.  Let 
the  trouble  of  an  hour  remain  with  its  time,  and 
pleasure  resume  its  sway  the  next." 

"I  doubt  much  that  the  troublesome  caller  will 
be  satisfied  with  his  defeat,"  said  the  "gentleman- 
ly stranger."  "I  thought  I  saw  that  in  his  eye  that 
boded  no  good." 

"Pshaw  !"  replied  Pruyter  ;  "he  is  a  creature  of 
but  little  stability  or  tenacity  of  purpose.  For  a 
season  a  dodtor,  for  another  a  captain,  and  now  a 
knight-errant.  His  fury  will  soon  blow  over,  for 
shortly,  I  am  informed  by  this  paper,  he  will  have 
more  agreeable  occupation." 

"In  what,  prav ?" 

"He  is  about  to  be  married." 

-•Married?     To  whom?"  asked  Howard. 

"To  honest  Dan   Morrison's  daughter,  the " 


'•What,  sir,  whom  did  you  sav  ?"  excitedly  ex- 
claimed Howard,  starting  to  hiv  feet  with  a  vehe- 
mence that  upset  the  board  anj  sent  the  chess-men 
riving  across  the  floor. 

"\Vhv,  mv  dear  sir,"  ejaculated  Pruvtcr,  recoil- 
ing with  an  exceedingly  well  simulated  surprise, 
on  his  features  and  in  his  tones;  "why,  sir,  von 
startle  me  with  your  violence." 

"I  crave  yonr  pardon,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  responded 
the  young  man,  more  quietly,  lor  he  had,  at  once, 
seen  the  impropriety  of  his  conduct.  "I  meant 
nothing.  It  was  only  mv  usual  manner." 

•'Then  your  usual  manner,  my  dear  sir,"  said 
the  old  man  blandly,  "is  very  uncomfortable  to  a 
person  who  is  at  all  nervous,  and  unused  to  it." 

"True,  Mr.  Pruvter  ;  but  you  mentioned  a  name 
quite  familiar,  and  one  in  which  I  feel  considerable 
interest,"  remarked  Howard,  his  manner  very  ma- 
terially changed,  though  there  was  still  an  eager 
look  in  his  eyes;  "and  was  uncertain  whether  or 
not  I  had  understood  you  correctly." 

"I  said,"  replied  Pruvter,  "that  Captain  Lorimer 
was  about  to  be  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Morrison,  a 
daughter  of  Daniel  Morrison  of-Melas,  as " 

••But  Dan  Morrison  has  but  one  daughter  of  a 
marriageble  age,  and  her  name  is  Elsie,"  replied 
Howard,  and  any  one  of  his  hearers  might  have 
noticed  the  effort  it  cost  him  to  use  the  moderate 
words  in  which  he  spoke;  "ar  i  I  am  assured.  i>v 
a  personal  knowledge  of  botn  parties,  that  there 
must  be  some  unaccountable  misconception." 


2-6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Here  is  a  portion  of  my  authority,  my  clear  sir," 
responded  Pruyter,  pointing  out  the  paragraph. 

The  young  man  hastily  seized  the  paper  and  read 
the  article  noted  with  avidity,  and  without  a  word 
handed  it  back  to  Mr.  Pruyter,  and  there  was  an 
expression  on  his  lace  that  was  in  every  way  satis- 
factory to  the  keen  watcher  of  his  countenance. 
To  ensure,  however,  the  fiercer  burning  of  the  fire 
(^  hate  that  his  words  had  kindled,  the  arch  sche- 
mer with  even,  polite  tones,  continued  : — 

"On  my  trip  to  Steadville,  to-day,  I  chanced  to 
meet  a  gentleman  well  acquainted  with  the  parties, 
and  he  told  me  that  the  bans  had  already  been  pub- 
lished, and  that  a  certain  pettifogger,  Roberts,  by 
name,  had  nearly  fainted  when  he  heard  it." 

The  old  man  had  learned  his  lesson  well,  from 
what  he  had  heard  and  from  a  careful  perusal  of 
the  letters  he  had  found  in  the  voting  man's  cloth- 
ing and,  despite  his  best  efforts,  he  could  not  sup- 
press a  slight  exultation  in  his  eyes,  when  he  saw 
the  effect  his  words  were  having  on  the  subject  of 
his  machinations;  in  the  flashing  of  the  eves,  the 
heightening  of  the  color  in  the  handsome  face,  in 
the  trembling  of  the  lip,  the  furtive  clenching  of 
the  hands  and  the  unwanted  temper  he  showed  in 
every  motion  of  his  fully  nerve-strung  body.  His 
victim  had  been  in  that  condition  for  moulding  to 
his  wishes  as  is  the  heated  iron  to  the  hammer  of 
the  blacksmith,  and  he  now  only  required  a  few 
dashes  of  ridicule,  like  cold  water  on  the  iron,  to 
confirm  him  in  the  shape  he  had  made  him  ;  and 


THE  COUXTEKFE1TEUS. 

*~r**s~**^^*^*-^r*^*^^~*^^-^-*^^ -v, 

he  proceeded,  at  once,  to  apply  the  proper  amount 
to  accomplish  that  end. 

••The  gentleman  informed  me,"  he  said,  in  fur- 
therance of  this  end,  yet  smiling  pleasantly,  "that 
lawyer  Roberts  was  not  the  only  one  who  had  been 
displaced  by  this  Canadian  Adonis.  \Yho  it  was, 
he  did  not  say,  but  intimated  that — 

'•Beware,  old  man,  beware  !"  interrupted  How- 
ard at  this  instant.  "Beware  how  vou  drive  an 
already  maddened  man  into  frenzy.  There  is  a 
point  at  which  forbearance  ceases  to  be  a  virtue." 

"Why,  really,  my  young  friend,"  answerd  Pruv- 
ter  as  blandly  and  as  politely  as  before ;  "I  am  sat- 
isfied that  you  are  indeed  interested  in  this  matter, 
more  than  I  had  conceived.  But  there,  why  would 
you  vent  your  spite  on  me,  who  know  so  little  and 
care  less  for  the  love  episodes  of  any  man's  life? 
.Supposing  that  you  all  would  feel  an  interest  in  the 
movements  of  a  personage  who  had  made  such  vi- 
olent threats  against  us  so  lately,  I  merely  gave  you 
the  news  as  a  consequence,  and  hardly  dreamed, 
be  assured,  that  in  so  doing,  I  was  hurting  the  feel- 
ings of  any  one." 

"Then,  if  this  be  true,  and  I  see  no  reason  why 
I  should  doubt  it,"  said  Howard,  in  tones  in  which 
concentrated  hate  were  painfully  prominent,  and  a 
steellv,  deadly  light  flashed  from  his  eyes,  as  he 
brought  his  clenched  hand  down  upon  the  table, 
with  such  force  as  to  tare  the  skin  of  his  knuckles. 
"God  give  me  sufficient  control  of  my  temper,  that 
I  shall  not  kill  him  on  si<Hit  !" 


2-S  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

••Indeed,  indeed.  Mr.  Howard,"  exclaimed  the 
hypocritical  villain,  recoiling  with  well-feigned  as- 
tonishment ;  "you  are  in  a  1 earful  state  of  excite- 
ment ;  and  Hear  me  much  that  I  have  committed  a 
grave  error  in  giving  this  information." 

After  Howard's  burst  of  passion  he  said  no  more 
hut  hesitating  for  a  moment,  with  his  head  bowed 
on  his  breast,  as  if  in  deep  thought,  he  brusquely 
crowded  his  hat  farther  down  on  his  head,  gave  an 
impatient  gesture  when  anyone  addressed  him  and 
rushed  out  into  the  night. 

Several  remarks  were  made  by  those  he  had  left 
so  suddenly,  some  laughingly,  some  with  greater 
feeling,  all  carelessly,  and  then  the  matter  was  dis- 
missed from  their  minds.  After  more  than  an  hour 
of  absence,  Howard  returned,  his  feelings  appa- 
rently very  much  calmer  than  when  he  had  gone 
out.  But  though  the  fierce  light  had  left  his  eyes 
and  the  high  color  had  faded  somewhat,  there  was 
a  fixed  determination  about  his  mouth,  that  boded 
no  good  to  the  author  of  his  passion. 

During  that  hour  Pouter  had  returned  to  his  a- 
partment,  more  than  satisfied  with  the  results  of 
his  diplomacy.  For  twenty  or  more  minutes,  he 
paced  the  floor  restlessly  to  and  fro.  and  then  he 
dismissed  the  subject  from  his  mind.  He  then  went 
to  a  strong  box  in  a  corner,  undid  the  complicated 
lock  and  taking  out  several  papers,  returned,  and 
seated  himself  near  a  window.  Fora  half-hour  he 
examined  the  documents  and  meditated  upon  their 
contents,  muttered  once  in  awhile  in  so  low  a  tone 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

that  he  could  not  be  heard  ;  at  some  times  mani- 
festing in  his  countenance  evidences  of  pleasure, 
at  others  of  dissatisfaction.  Having,  apparently, 
examined  them  sufficiently  for  his  purpose,  he  did 
them  up  again,  bound  a  piece  of  tape  around  them, 
and  dropping  his  head  upon  his  crossed  arms,  with 
a  sigh  of  relief,  was  soon  asleep.  His  iron  consti- 
tution and  seldom  flagging  energies,  had  succum- 
bed at  last  to  fatigue  and  need  of  rest ;  and  though 
his  body  rested,  it  seemed  his  busy  brain  was  still 
at  work,  for  occasionally  a  frown  shut  down  over 
his  brows  and  his  lips  worked  as  if  he  communed 
with  himself,  notwithstanding  he  slept. 

No  sooner  had  this  state  of  affairs  become  appa- 
rent, than  a  hand  crept  slowlv  and  quietly  through 
the  slightlv  opened  window,  grasped  the  bundle 
of  papers,  removed  them  noiselessly ;  and  in  a  few 
moments  as  slowlv  and  quietly  returned,  and  put 
back  as  noiselessly  the  same,  or  another  bundle,  to 
every  appearance  the  same  as  the  one  abstracted. 

For  upwards  of  an  hour  the  old  man  slumbered, 
and  then  awoke  with  a  start  and  a  quick  glance  at 
the  clock  on  the  mantle,  whose  united  hands  stood 
at  twelve.  Hastily  sei/ing  the  packet  at  hand,  he 
placed  it  in  the  strong  box,  carefully  locked  down 
the  cover,  put  the  kev  securelv  in  his  pocket,  and 
with  an  occasional  yawn  and  stretch,  nndresM-d. 
blew  out  his  light  and  went  to  bed. 

While  the  old  man  sleeps  we  will  trace  the  ad- 
ventures of  some  of  our  characters  that  were  sim- 
ultaneously transpiring  around  him. 


200  THE  COUNTERFEITERS 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

FURTHER    DISCLOSURES. 

[OW  delicate  and  full  of  sensibility  the  or- 
ganization of  woman  ;  how  finely  are  her 
nerves  attuned  ;  how  sensative  the  brain 
to  outward  influence.  There  are  certain 
masculine  natures  among  them  who  partake  not  of 
their  kind,  and  are  scarcely  less  easily  wrought  up- 
on by  exterior  circumstances,  than  are  the  beings 
of  whose  temperaments  they  seem  to  be  a  portion. 
They  are  wrongly  denominated  the  "weaker  ves- 
sel," unless  actual  physical  and  mental  force  are 
alone  considered  ;  and  too  often  the  latter  is  no  dis- 
tinguishing trait  of  the  part  of  humanity  arrogat- 
ing to  themselves  the  title  of  the  stronger  sex. 

\\'e  are  penning  no  woman's  rights  lecture,  nor 
are  we  an  advocate  of  that  doctrine,  pernicious  and 
ill-advised  as  we  consider  it;  still,  in  many  cases, 
do  we  claim  that  woman  is  the  superior,  stronger, 
if  you  will.  Her  love  is  stronger,  her  affection  for 
her  offspring  universally  more  forceful,  and  her 
sensjbility  to  sorrow  or  joy  more  acute  than  is  that 
of  man.  She  labors  more  hours  in  the  twenty-four 
than  her  stronger  partner,  and  can  endure,  when 
needs  must,  an  amount  of  pain  and  fatigue,  that 
would  overwhelm  many  a  coarser  organization. 
And  how  much  more  sensitive  to  surrrounding  in- 
fluences. Have  you  never  heard  the  remark  some- 
times sneeringly  made :  "There  will  be  a  storm, 
soon,  there  are  so  many  women  out,  to-dav.  And 


THE  COUXTEIIFKITKKS. 

how  true  the  saying,  however  tauntingly  spoken. 
There  is  a  state  of  the  atmosphere,  before  every 
storm,  that  has  an  effect  upon  mercury,  and  on  the 
finer  senses  of  woman.  What  causes  the  quick- 
silver in  the  barometrical  tube  to  fall,  has  a  like 
effect  upon  the  spirits  of  woman  ;  and  a  ride  or  a 
walk  or  a  call  on  a  neighbor  is  the  result.  As  the 
air  becomes  heavier  the  storm-cloud  passes  awav, 
and  the  sun  again  shines  out,  the  equilibrium  in  the 
tube  and  woman  is  again  restored  and  she  no  lon- 
ger feels  that  inclination,  begot  of  uneasiness  to  go 
abroad. 

Many  other  circumstances  might  be  instanced, 
but  the  above  is  sufficient  to  illustrate  our  theory. 
Though  quick  to  feel  the  blow  that  cause  the  more 
tender  nerves  to  flutter,  as  the  more  delicate  string 
of  the  violin  is  first  to  respond  to  the  friction  of 
the  bow,  like  them  they  are,  frailer  and  less  capa- 
ble of  sustaining,  without  injury,  the  discordant 
jars  of  a  coarser  friction  with  the  world.  Nerves 
so  finely  attuned  are  the  first  to  be  overstrained,  for 
the  tension  to  produce  a  right  tone  is  greater  than 
to  the  larger  and  lower,  and  thence  comes  hysteria 
sometimes  followed  by  coma. 

To  some  such  state  of  nervous  irritability  had 
Helen  Leonard  arrived  when  Samuel  Pruvter  had 
retired,  and  her  hysterical  laugh  had  been  answer- 
ed by  the  sobbing  respiration.  Many  circumstan- 
ces had  conspired  to  bring  about  this  condition  of 
affairs.  The  excitement  attending  her  discovery, 
and  the  threats  following  it  :  the  exhaustion  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^-S^^X-^ ~--*~ ^^-^ - ^ 

fatigue  consequent  upon  her  attempted  escape  and 
its  consequences;  the  constant  tear  of  personal  vi- 
olence under  which  she  had  labored  ;  the  constraint 
that  she  had  been  compelled  to  put  upon  herself, 
in  receiving  the  addresses  of  one  for  whom  she 
held  an  unconquerable  aversion,  and  more  than  all 
the  apparent  frustration  of  the  efforts  of  her  friends, 
whence  arose  the  ''hope  deferred  that  maketh  the 
heart  sick,"  had  all  contributed  to  counterbalance 
the  natural  strength  of  mind  and  innate  courage, 
that  were  some  of  her  characteristics. 

Under  these  conditions,  then,  it  is  little  to  be 
wondered  at  that  a  sound  of  the  nature  of  the  one 
that  had  been  heard,  should  have  driven  the  rem- 
aining blood  from  her  cheek,  and  made  her  reel, 
for  a  moment,  in  her  chair.  The  disagreable  feel- 
ing, however,  soon  passed  away,  when,  in  the  in- 
truder, she  recognized  the  mysterious  woman  who 
had,  on  a  former  occasion,  proved  herself  so  good 
a  friend.  She  was  already  within  the  room,  and 
engaged  in  pulling  after  her  the  short  ladder  by  the 
aid  of  which  she  had  gained  the  window.  This 
accomplished,  she  silently  closed  the  grating,  and 
turning  to  the  table,  sat  herself  down  in  a  chair, 
facing  the  astonished  girl. 

Assisted  by  the  light,  now  shining  full  upon  her 
features,  Helen  was  enabled  to  get  a  far  better  idea 
of  the  appearance  of  her  strange  visitant  than  she 
before  had.  As  thus  revealed,  she  seemed  a  wo- 
man some  fifty  years  of  age,  with  features  that  had 
evidently  once  possessed  manv  lines  of  bcautv,  but 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

age  and  care  had  left  many  marks  there,  crossing 
out  the  other  arid  less  enduring  indices.  Her  hair 
was  almost  as  white  as  snow,  at  least  so  much  of 
it  as  was  visible,  her  form  attenuated,  and  the  hand 
she  had  placed  wearily  on  her  forehead,  whether 
to  hide  her  features  or  to  support  her  head,  Helen 
knew  not,  was  thin  and  white,  with  tapering  fin- 
gers that  were  tipped  by  long  and  neglected  nails. 
She  was  dressed  as  when  she  had  first  seen  her ; 
and  as  she  thus  sat,  with  her  restless,  sad  blue  eves 
fixed  intently  upon  the  maiden's,  she  presented  the 
appearance  of  one  who  had  seen  better  and  happi- 
er days  and  who  had  been  broken,  if  not  in  heart, 
at  least  in  body  and  mind,  by  sorrow. 

For  several  minutes  thev  thus  sat,  neither  speak- 
ing, while  a  dull  sensation  of  doubt  and  fear  was 
creeping  over  the  maiden's  frame.  Why,  she  could 
not  tell,  only  that  there  was  something  so  strange, 
so  outre,  so  different  from  her  preconceived  ideas 
of  womankind  in  the  mysterious  being  before  her. 
And  with  the  sensation  came  the  impression  that, 
in  some  unaccountable  way,  this  woman's  fate  was 
in  some  manner,  connec~ted  with  her  own.  She 
felt  not  that  there  were  any  ties  of  kinship  or  pre- 
vious bond  of  affection,  but  it  seemed  that  destiny 

had  woven  in  the  warp  of  her  own  life  the  woof 
of  that  of  her  mysterious  guest:  that  the  fates  had 
so  mingled  the  streams  of  their  existences  that  they 

were  destined  to  commingle  hereafter.  Chimerical 
and  out  of  the  common  course  as  this  seemed  to 

be,  it  was  in  vain  that  the  musing  girl  endeavored 


21  _|  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

to  banish  the  thought  from  her  mind,  try,  as  she 
would.  Without  doubt  the  strange  woman  read 
something  ot"  these  thoughts  in  the  face  of  her  com- 
panion, when  she  said  : — 

"It  were  better  that  all  such  serious  thoughts  as 
those  you  entertain  should  be  expelled  by  youth 
and  beauty ;  for  care  ages  faster  than  years,  and 
deep  meditation  bleaches  the  cheek  more  than  ill- 
health  and  wasting  vitality." 

"And  how,  pray,"  asked  Helen,  clasping  her 
hands,  "can  I  avoid  such  cares  and  meditations, 
when  I  am  situated  as  I  am,  a  prey  to  fear  and  anx- 
iety, a  prisoner  where  I  should  be  a  mistress,  and 
controlled  where  I  should  command?" 

"By  remembering  that  every  cloud,  however 
dark  the  side  presented  to  us,  has  a  silver  lining," 
replied  the  woman,  without  removing  her  hand, 
and  in  a  voice  slighty  tremulous,  but  free  from  the 
foreign  accent  she  had  before  used;  "by  remem- 
bering that  however  black  the  pall  night  may  cast 
over  a  sleeping  world,  that  day  soon  comes ;  that, 
though  the  oppressor  thrives  for  a  season,  his  fall 
is  the  greater  and  the  more^certain  when  it  comes." 

••I  have — I  do  remember  all  this;  but  still  am  I 
a  prisoner ;  and  why  cannot  you  who  have  power 
to  release  me,  set  me  at  liberty?  It  is  but  a  dull 
life  here  at  the  best,"  said  Helen,  and  tears  that  she 
would  not  have  let  her  enemies  see,  filled  her  eyes. 
••You  alone  seem  to  have  the  secret  of  my  prison- 
house,  and  a  simple  ad,  the  same  you  once  before 
did,  might  set  me  free." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"The  time  has  not  vet  come,  Helen,"  replied 
the  strange  woman,  while  a  sympathetical  tear 
dropped  to  the  table  on  which  her  elbow  rested  ; 
''the  time  is  not  yet.  Should  von  escape  from  this 
room,  you  could  not  get  undiscovered  away  from 
the  mountain,  nor  would  your  keepers  fail  to  find 
vou  again,  before  you  had  reached  safety." 

••And  who  are  you,  madam,  who  are  so  cruel, 
and  vet  have  been  so  kind?  You  seem  mv  only 
friend,  and  I  am,  alas,  so  much  in  need  of  them." 

"My  name  or  station  would  add  no  jot  of  happi- 
ness or  peace  to  you,"  replied  the  woman  ;  "but  I 
am  your  friend,  your  friend,  and  not  the  only  one 
by  many,  and  would  help  and  protect  vou  at  the 
cost  of  my  life.  The  time  has  not  yet  come,  I  say, 
for  vou  to  be  set  at  liberty.  But  ere  long,"  and 
now  there  was  a  dreamy  look  in  the  blue  eves  and 
she  spoke  something  in  a  language  Helen  could  not 
understand,  but  she -soon  resumed  in  English  :  "ere 
long  the  measure  of  time  will  be  full,  pressed  down 
and  running  over,  but  not  yet,  not  yet." 

"But  liberty  is  so  sweet,  madam,"  said  Helen, 
and  her  voice  was  full  of  entreaty  ;  "so  sweet  to  one 
so  young  as  I  am  ;  and  I  hate  to  sit  hour  after  hour, 
day  after  day  and  week  after  week,  gazing  on  these 
rough  stone  walls,  or  through  those  grates,  upon 
the  blank  precipice  beyond,  and  know  that  I  am 
a  prisoner." 

The  woman  started  slightly  when  she  heard  the 
sound  of  Helen's  voice,  for  she  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  her  presence. 


266  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"•You  asked  me,  a  few  moments  since,  who  I 
was,"  she  said.  "I  am  one  who  knows  every  av- 
enue in  this  sink  of  iniquitv  ;  everv  height  and 
depth  of  their  crimes;  every  length  and  breadth  of 
their  infamy.  I  know  their  plans  and  their  tricks 
to  guard  their  secret  from  the  outer  wrorld  ;  their 
puerile  attempts  to  frighten  away  inquiry  and  their 
expedients  by  which  to  baffle  the  eye  of  the  law. 
But  the  time  of  exposure  is  not  yet.  Time  travels 
fast,  very  fast,  but  not  yet,  not  yet,"  and  she  seemed 
lapsing  again  into  forgetfulness  of  the  present. 

••Do  you  know  the  secret  of  the  supernatural 
appearances?"  asked  Helen,  interested,  notwith- 
standing her  sorrows;  "and  can  you  explain  what 
has  so  long  been  a  mystery  to  all?" 

"Supernatural  !"  exclaimed  the  woman,  con- 
temptuously. "The}-  arc  no  more  supernatural 
than  are  the  other  works  of  this  man.  Yes,  and  I 
loved  him  once,  this  William  Pruyter;  would  have 
followed  him,  uncomplaining,  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  farther,  to  death,  I  would  have  followed  him. 
I  did  follow  him  here,  and  ah,  how  basely  he  rec- 
ompensed my  devotion."  There  was  a  baleful  glit- 
ter in  her  eyes  now  that  fairly  frightened  Helen, 
which  the  woman  perceiving,  she  changed  her  tone 
"but  I  hate  him  now.  The  headless  horse  is  but 
a  white  animal  owned  and  kept  on  the  premises, 
whose  neck  and  head  are  covered  by  a  dark  blan- 
ket, not  perceivable  in  the  night;  its  rider  anyone 
who  wishes,  wearing  a  mask,  in  the  mouth"  and 
eyes  of  which  is  lighted  punk,  which,  when  blown 


THE  COUNTKUKK 

emits  fire  or  smoke.  The  unsupported  face  is  mv 
own,  and  I  sometimes  dance  in  white,  when  the 
tit  is  on,  across  cliffs  and  precipices,  to  the  tops  of 
which  I  alone  know  the  paths.  The  lights  are 
simply  lanterns  on  poles  in  the  hands  of  men,  and 
swung  to  and  fro." 

'•And  how  has  it  been  possible  to  keep  such 
simple  expedients  from  exposure  so  long?" 

"They  are  exhibited  only  to  the  ignorant  and  su- 
perstitious, or  to  men  in  their  pay,  either  all  the 
time  or  for  the  occasion.  Though  simple  and  ap- 
parently childish,  the  means  have  accomplished 
the  end,  and  their  secret  is  yet  safe.  Do  you  rec- 
ogni/e  me,"  she  suddenly  asked,  leaning  forward 
clasping  Helen's  wrist  in  her  nervous  hand;  "do 
you  recognize  me  as  your  friend  :" 

So  quick  was  the  motion,  so  changed    the  tone, 
and  so  incisive  her  gaze  that  Helen  could  only  fal- 
ter in  reply  : — 
"I  do."' 

••And  will  follow  my  counsel:" 
"If  proper." 

"Unreservedly.  Without  question,  without  hes- 
itation .-" 

••How  can " 

•;IIark  you  !  Death  stares  you  in  the  face."  c- 
hementlv  exclaimed  the  Grange  being.  "Dc.t'h 
stalks  around  you  untrammelled,  a  terrible,  a  hor- 
rible death,  and  I,  alone,  c;m  save  you.  and  I  alone, 
but  not  yet.  Already  have  I  snatched  from  your 
imconscio.us  lips  the  poiM.ned  cup,  tilled  and  fixed 


268  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

for  you,  Will  you  promise  to  obey  me  in  every 
part  and  particular  as  I  have  demanded  ?" 

'•Yes,  yes,"  replied  Helen,  sorely  frightened  by 
the  woman's  manner,  and  dropping  her  eyes,  that 
could  no  longer  meet  the  fiery  orbs  bent  on  them. 

"Listen,  then,"  said  the  woman  in  a  gentler  tone 
and  releasing  her  clutch  upon  the  maiden's  wrist. 
"To-morrow  morning  Dr.  Martin,  of  Steadville, 
will  examine  vou  to  ascertain  the  soundness  of  your 
mind.  Meet  him  politely,  rationally.  Give  him 
no  reason  to  complain  of  your  acts,  no  cause,  by 
unavailing  reproaches  or  useless  complaints  to,  in 
any  way.  question  your  sanity." 

"My  sanity?" 

"Your  sanity,"  repeated  the  woman  ;  "for  to- 
morrow, at  ten  o'clock,  a  commission  of  lunacy 
will  sit  on  your  case." 

"On  my  case?" 

"On  your  case,"  she  replied  somewhat  impa- 
tiently ;  "to  decide  whether  you  are  insane  or  not. 
Such  they  claim  to  be  its  object;  but  the  judge- 
ment is  already  made,  though  not  rendered.  A  ver- 
dict brought  in  that  you  are  mad,  does  not  make  it 
so.  Conduct  yourself,  on  the  occasion,  as  would 
any  other  sensible  woman.  This  will  not  change 
the  result  in  the  least,  but  it  is  best  so.  Afterwards 
meet  the  proposals  of  the  old  villain's  son  with  the 
scorn  it  merits.  Make  no  efforts  to  escape.  Keep 
your  door  continually  bolted,  and  in  less  than  one 
week  you  shall  be  free." 

"Oh,  thanks,  thanks  !"  exclaimed  Helen. 


THE  COUNTEHFEITEKS.  369 

"Hark!"  cautioned  the  woman,  hastening  to  the 
grating  and  listening  intently  for  several  minutes, 
when  returning  to  the  table,  she  said  :  "Write  the 
words  I  shall  dictate,  'What  he  tells  you  is  false  ; 
but  von  cannot  aid  me.'  Now  sign  it." 

Helen  did  as  requested.  The  woman  took  the 
short  note  in  her  hand,  hastily  opened  the  grating, 
readjusted  the  ladder,  passed  out  and  closing  the 
bars  of  the  window,  disappeared. 

The  tired,  worn  out,  bewildered  girl  sat  some 
half-an-hour  vainly  striving  to  unravel  the  knotted 
skein  of  her  thoughts;  but  every  effort  seemed  to 
perplex  her  the  more.  At  last,  wearied  still  more 
bv  her  exertions,  she  dismissed,  well  as  she  might, 
the  entire  subject  from  her  mind,  threw  herself  on 
her  couch  and  in  a  few  moments  was  in  a  sound 
sleep,  knowing  nothing  of  the  events  that  were  in 
progress  about  her,  in  which  her  fate  had  so  great 
a  stake. 

The  strange  woman,  after  concealing  her  ladder 
in  some  overhanging  bushes,  but  a  few  feet  from 
the  house,  soon  after  from  the  end  of  a  fishing  pole 
that  stood  against  the  building  near  at  hand,  flut- 
tered down  the  missive  procured  from  Helen, which 
we  have  seen  reached  its  destination.  The  dense 
darkness  and  the  attention  of  the  disputants  being 
lullv  engaged,  enabled  her  to  accomplish  this  with- 
out detection  ;  when  making  off  through  the  night 
she  was  hidden  bv  its  shades. 

She  must  have  watched  the  issue  of  the  dispute, 
for  not  long  alter  the  disappearance  of  Lorimer, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^s^> **-* ~^-^-^--— s^>^-^^. 

down  the  road,  she  might  again  have  been  seen, 
creeping  warily  from  her  place  of  concealment  to- 
ward the  window  from  which  the  light  of  a  solita- 
ry lamp  was  seen  shining.  All  the  time  Pruyter 
was  engaged  in  his  deep  cogitations  she  kept  watch 
and  ward  at  his  window  ;  watching  with  untiring 
intentness  every  movement  of  body  or  features, 
and  reading,  as  it  seemed  from  her  intelligent  face 
and  some  words  she  occasionally  muttered,  as  from 
an  open  book,  everv  thought  that  teemed  through 
his  working  brain. 

She  caught  everv  word  of  the  letter  and  of  the 
newspaper  paragraph,  which  seemed  to  make  plain 
his  thoughts,  as  do  good  engravings  illustrate  the 
text  of  a  book.  When  he  went  to  the  main  room, 
she  quickly  shifted  her  position  to  where  she  could 
command  by  sight  and  hearing  every  word  and  mo- 
tion of  the  parties  thus  overlooked,  and  when  Wil- 
liam Howard  passed  out  of  the  door  and  hastened 
into  the  darkness,  she  followed,  anil  when  several 
rods  from  the  house,  ->he  touched  him  lightly  upon 
the  shoulder.  The  young  man  turned  with  an  ex- 
clamation of  anger  on  his  lips,  naturallv  supposing 
the  interruption  came  from  some  one  of  his  late 
companions  who  had  followed  him.  With  some 
surprise  he  saw  that  it  was  a  woman,  and  one  that 
he  had  never  before  seen.  If  he  was  surprised 
when  he  saw  a  woman,  how  much  more  was  he 
astonished  when  she  addressed  him  as  she  did. 

"Whither  away,  so  hastily,  Mr.  William  How- 
ard ?  It  seems  a  strange  road  for  you  to  travel." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Chafed  as  Howard  was  bv  what  he  had  already 
passed,  his  first  impulse  was  to  return  some  impa- 
tient answer;  but,  as  his  was  not  a  nature  to  speak 
harshlv  to  a  woman  under  whatever  circumstances 
he  was  called  to  address  her,  he  hesitated.  His 
interlocutor,  seeing  his  hesitancy,  continued  : — 

"It  Mr.  Howard  can  spare  a  few  minutes  of  his 
valuable  time  to  listen  to  the  babble  of  a  woman, 
he  may  hear  something  worth  his  while." 

••What  do  you  mean,  woman?"  asked  the  young 
man,  surprised  at  her  manner  and  words. 

"I  mean  what  I  have  said,"  she  replied,  haugh- 
tily ;  ''I  have  something  to  say  to  you  that  may  be 
of  importance.  If,  however,  from  any  cause,  you 
are  adverse  to  giving  me  a  half-hour  of  your  atten- 
tion, the  matter  is  easily  left  unsaid." 

"If  you  have  aught  to  say  to  me,"  said  Howard, 
••i>e  assured  I  will  willingly  listen;  but  your  sud- 
en  appearance,  in  a  style  unusual  to  the  suround- 
ings,  caused  astonishment,  and  I  only  hesitated  to 
frame  appropriate  words  in  which  to  answer." 

"Follow  me,  then,  where  we  may  be  sure  of  no 
interruption  or  eavesdropping !" 

Saying  which  she  led  him  a  short  distance  from 
the  pathway,  until  they  arrived  at  a  fallen  tree,  on 
which  he,  at  her  invitation,  took  a  seat,  and  was 
soon  listening  to  her  relation,  with  more  interest 
than  he  had  conceived  would  be  the  result  of  this 
strange  meeting.  After  some  ten  minutes,  he  be- 
gan to  make  ejaculations  of  surprise,  and  at  the 
end  of  over  half-an-hour,  when  she  finished,  said: 


THE  COrXTEKFEITERS. 

"Woman,  woman,  is  this  true?  or  are  you  but 
weaving  a  fiction  to  please  my  ear  for  a  space  ?" 

"What  is  William  Howard,"  she  asked,  rising 
hastily  to  her  feet  with  a  proud  gesture  ;  "-or  what 
am  I  that  I  should  meet  him  at  midnight  in  such  a 
dismal  try  sting  place  as  this,  to  pour  idle  tales  into 
his  ear,  that  he  may  pass  an  agreeable  thirty  min- 
utes? My  days  of  sickly  sentimentality  are  long 
passed.  Mr.  Howard  :  and  had  they  not,  I  would 
scarcely  make  a  selection  of  a  former  hostler  and 
present  counterfeiter,  on  which  to  expend  it." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  madam,"  exclaimed  the 
abashed  and  almost  dumfounded  voung  man.  ••! 
meant  not  to  question  your  veracity  or  intentions ; 
but  the  nature  of  the  tale  was  sufficient  to  make 
me  doubt  the  accuracy  of  my  hearing." 

"Have  you  resided  so  long  in  this  den  of  thieves," 
she  rejoined,  with  towering  form  and  flashing  eves, 
that  reminded  her  hearer  of  Scott's  conception  of 
Meg  Meriles,  the  gypsy,  "to  be  surprised  at  any 
tale  of  villainy  that  may  be  told  you?" 

'•I  beg  of  you  to  remember,  madam,"  replied 
Howard  testily  ;  "that  I  am  a  member  of  the  com- 
munity to  which  you  are  so  lavish  of  your  oppro- 
brious epithets,  and  that  any  appellation,  scornful 
or  otherwise,  must  be  shared  by  myself." 

••And  the  more  shame  to  you,"  she  said,  "that 
such  is  the  case.  A  voung  man  of  vour  capacity 
and — Mr.  Howard,  I  must  give  you  the  credit  for 
it— and  natural  nobleness  of  character,  methinks, 
might  find  better  associates  than  this  herd  of  vile, 


THE  COrXTKIlKKITEKS. 

ignorant,  crime-stained  men,  and  a  higher  calling 
than  that  of  manufacturing  counterfeit  coin  and 
spurious  bank-notes  !"  Saving  which  the  strange 
being  turned  her  head  and  proudly  marched  away, 
leaving  her  auditor  in  a  maze  of  astonishment,  not 
unmixed  with  a  certain  amount  of  chagrin. 

••Well,  on -my  word,"  thought  Howard  as  he. 
after  a  few  moments,  turned  and  slowlv  pursued 
his  way  toward  the  stone  house,  ''whether  my  mvs- 
terious  visitant  is  of  flesh  and  blood,  or  one  of  the 
numerous  disembodied  spirits  of  this  haunted  lo- 
calitv,  she  has  a  tongue  of  her  own  and  has  a  bit- 
ter wav  of  using  it.  But  this  tale  of  hers.  It  must 
be  true,  yet  it  is  hard  to  believe." 

At  this  stage  of  his  meditations  the  young  man 
neared  the  house,  and  was  again  greeted  with  the 
sight  of  the  strange  woman  flitting  across  the  path 
just  ahead  of  him.  Where  she  went,  he  had  no 
power  of  ascertaining  and  gave  it  no  farther  heed, 
for  other  events  of  more  importance  to  him,  were 
transpiring  within  the  compass  of  his  vision. 

For  another  half-hour,  or  nearly,  he  remained 
without,  and  then  entered  the  building,  and  find- 
ing no  one  stirring,  soon  after  made  his  way  to  his 
room,  the  door  of  which,  for  the  first  time  of  his 
occupancv,  he  securely  bolted,  and  to  his  couch, 
with  the  burden  of  manv  adventures  and  of  the 
added  responsibilities  of  the  night  upon  his  mind, 
of  which  to  think  or  dream  or  forget — which  he 
almost  hoped  he  could,  but  not  quite — as  the  case 
or  his  conscience  might  dictate-. 


'I'llE  COr\TKKFKITKKS. 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

A    DEATH     1!!.O\V    TO    sAMt'KI.'s    HOPES. 

|T  was  one  of  the  last  days  of  Mav.  The  stiri 
had  risen  clear,  but  from  a  bed  hung  with  red 
curtains  of  clouds  which,  after  thev  had  lost 
their  brilliant  hues,  growing  darker  and  more 
dark  until  they  finally  shut  out  from  the  earth  the 
rays  that,  but  a  short  time  before,  gave  such  prom- 
ise of  a  brilliant  dav.  About  eight  o'clock  one  of 
those  intensely  disagreeable  rains  commenced  fall- 
ing, not  like  an  honest  summer  shower,  wetting  a 
person  through  writh  a  flurry  and  a  laugh  ;  but  ac- 
companied by  a  cold  east  wind  and  dense  fog,  as 
if  the  equinoctial  storm  had,  after  mature  deliber- 
ation become  dissatisfied  with  its  efforts  at  the  time 
allotted  to  it,  and  had  returned  to  try  it  over  again  ; 
a  mistv,  uncomfortable  storm  that  insinuates  itself 
into  every  fibre  of  your  clothing,  under  your  hat 
and  down  your  neck,  soaking  every  pore  of  your 
skin  like  an  insiduous  but  very  cold  perspiration. 

The  Stone  House  in  the  Pass  was  shrouded  in 
the  mist,  so  densely  that  the  human  eye  was  unable 
to  pierce  its  folds  for  more  than  twenty  feet  in  anv 
direction.  Compact  masses  of  vapor  .rolled  down 
the  precipices  and  filled  the  ravines,  while  the  con- 
stant dripping  of  the  clouds  oozed  through  it  like 
water  through  a  fine  sieve. 

Soon  after  the  storm  began,  Dr.  Martin,  as  had 
been  foretold,  arrived  and  was,  soon  afterward  in- 
troduced to  Miss  Leonard.  She  received  him  with 


THE  COUNTERFEIT  EKS. 

due  courtesy,  answered  all  the  questions  he  asked 
in  a  perfectly  rational  and  ladv-like  manner.  He 
was  a  young  man,  scarcely  thirty  years  old,  quite 
pompous  and  dogmatical,  and  betrayed  some  other 
indications  of  being  an  empiric  ;  but  seemed  to  be 
struck  with  the  young  lady's  appearance,  and  after 
a  season  began  to  manifest  by  his  words  and  act- 
ions, a  considerable  admiration  of  her  person.  La- 
dies, it  is  said,  are  not  usually  adverse  to  homage 
of  this  nature,  but  there  was  something  so  leering 
and  sensual  in  the  countenance  of  tbe  physician, 
that  Helen  was  at  once  disgusted.  However  much 
hN  appearance  and  acts  disturbed  her,  she  remem- 
bered her  last  night's  visitor's  injunction  and  treat- 
ed him  with  politeness  ;  but  it  was  as  cool  and  as 
unimpassioned  as  snow. 

Having  no  excuse  for  remaining  after  his  exam- 
ination had  ended,  the  enamored  doctor  soon  after 
left,  and  Helen,  though  filled  with  anxiety  for  the 
result  of  the  trial,  felt  a  very  decided  relief  from 
his  absence. 

A  few  minutes  before  ten  o'clock  Justice  D 

rode  up  to  the  door  in  a  carriage,  accompanied  by 
a  brisk  little  fellow,  some  forty-rive  or  fifty  years 
of  age,  with  bald  crown,  and  wearing  spectacles. 
It  was  a  stroke  of  good  policy  in  the  worthy  mag- 
i-Irate to  have  engaged  a  companion  in  his  jour- 
ney for.  from  hi.s  well  known  propensity  to  forget 
names,  he  would  never  have  found  his  proper  des- 
tination, no  doubt  when  endeavoring  to  recolect 
Copper  Mountain,  would,  in  his  search  for  the  right 


2J-6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

road,  have  inquired  the  way  to  copper-toed  boots, 
or  any  equally  as  ridiculous  a  substitute. 

Did  you  never  notice,  reader,  that  a  man  who 
lisps,  is  continually  using  words  that  bother  in  that 
particular,  when  others  could  be  substituted  equal- 
ly as  well  ?  Did  you  ever  know  a  stutterer  that  was 
not  continually  talking,  or  a  person  that  could  not 
remember  dates,  always  giving  you  the  day  of  the 
week,  month  and  year  of  any  circumstance,  or  he 
who  could  not  call  to  mind  a  name,  everlastingly 
making  bolts  and  pecks  at  it,  like  a  hen  at  a  kernel 
of  grain  firmly  frozen  in  the  ice,  and  with  about 
the  same  amount  of  success?  Such  has  been  our 
humble  experience,  and  such  was  that  one  of  Her 
Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  here  introduced. 

His  companion  was  Lawyer  Stevens  of  Stead- 
ville,  a  bustling,  energetic  man  of  some  practice, 
though  not  of  a  higher  class,  for  it  was  whispered 
that  he  did  not  always  conduct  his  cases  according 
to  the  strict  letter  of  legal  practice  or  with  the  exact 
rules  of  equity.  His  motto  seemed  to  be  to  make 
his  business  pay,  and  if  rumor  told  the  truth  he  had 
succeeded  in  doing  so. 

We  wili  not  follow  the  trial  throughout,  for  this 
scene  is  only  interposed  for  the  purpose  of  intro- 
ducing the  two  new  characters  and  of  noting  two 
events  having  their  effect  on  the  sequel. 

Dr.  Martin  testified  "without  reserve  that,  in  his 
professional  opinion,  the  lady  was  evidently  insane 
and  a  fit  subject  for  hospital  treatment.  William 
Printer  made  oath  that  Miss  Leonard  had  been  in 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 

such  condition  since  her  mother's  death,  that  he 
was  compelled  to  put  some  constraint  upon  her; 
that  she  had  once  escaped  and  had  wandered  away 
in  the  night,  causing  much  anxiety  and  trouble  to 
get  her  back  and  other  circumstances,  more  or  less 
true.  Maggie  O'Brien  and  several  of  the  men  de- 
clared the  same  and,  finally,  William  Howard,  af- 
ter an  aside  conversation  with  lawyer  Stevens  of 
quite  short  duration,  at  the  conclusion  of  which, 
the  voung  man  folded  and  placed  something  in  his 
pocket,  assured  the  commission  that  he  had  noted 
many  indications  of  aberation  of  mind  in  the  lady, 
plainly  tending  toward  lunacy. 

Helen  listened  to  this  with  some  degree  of  sur- 
prise, but  adhering  to  her  promise  to  her  mysteri- 
ous friend,  she  maintained  the  same  placid  exterior 
and  lady-like  suavity  and  gentleness  of  demeanor 
that  had  characterized  her  conduct  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  trying  ordeal. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  a  verdict  was 
arrived  at  in  accordance  with  the  facls  elicited,  or 
thet  Helen  Leonard  was  adjudged  a  lunatic,  and 
unable,  from  her  condition,  to  take  proper  care  of 
herself,  or  of  her  property  ;  or  that  William  Pruv- 
ter  was  constituted  her  guardian  and  trustee  of  the 
small  remains  of  patrimony  left  from  her  father's 
estate,  with  full  powers  of  custody  until  such  time 
as  a  regular  court  should  pronounce  her  cured  of 

her  malady.     Justice  D honorably  paid  to  each 

of  the  witnesses  his  or  her  proper  lee,  which  done 
each  of  the    strangers    \\vre    invited    to    Pruvter's 


THE  COUNTERFEITER:' 

room,  returning  with  satisfied  countenances,  and 
before  noon  the  house  was  clear  of  its  legal  and 
other  visitors. 

While  all  this  was  being  transacted,  Samuel 
Pruyter  sat,  with  a  very  unsatisfied  expression  of 
face,  refusing  to  take  anv  part  on  either  side,  but 
noting  with  assiduous  attention  all  that  transpired. 
The  commission  adjourned,  Helen  was  returned  to 
her  apartment  and  left  to  her  solitary  reflections, 
now,  alas,  more  bitter  than  ever  before,  increasing 
in  bitterness  as  the  clouds  more  closely  enveloped 
her ;  not  the  clouds  that  were  as  vet  weeping,  as 
if  in  sorrow  for  her  sorrows  ;  not  the  clouds  a  just 
heaven  had  sent  to  veil  such  a  deed  of  villany  from 
sight,  but  the  clouds  of  misery,  of  anguish  and  al- 
most of  despair,  that  gathered  over  her  devoted 
head  ;  clouds  of  complication  and  perplexitv,  fear- 
fully damaging  to  the  new  found  courage  and  re- 
aroused  confidence  that  late  events  had  given  her. 

Something  like  two  hours  had  passed  after  the 
departure  of  the  legal  gentlemen,  when  Miss  Leon- 
ard was  aroused  from  the  fit  of  musing  into  which 
she  had  fallen  by  a  gentle  rap  upon  the  outside  of 
her  door.  Hastily  brushing  away  such  evidences 
of  sorrow  as  yet  remained,  she  drew  the  bolt  and 
opening  the  door,  admitted  Samuel  Pruyter.  He 
saw  the  look  of  surprise  manifested  by  the  maiden, 
and  hurriedly  exclaimed  : — 

"I  beg  your  pardon  for  this  intrusion,  Miss  Hel- 
en, but  I  could  not  stay  away  under  the  circum- 
stances. I  can  but  appreciate  the  sadness  that  must 


THE  COUXTEUFEITEUS. 

be  the  result  of  to-dav's  transactions,  and  I  would 
gladly  afford  you  all  the  consolation  in  my  power." 
"What  consolation  is  it  in  the  power  of  man  to 
afford  in  this  hour  of  misery?"  asked  the  girl,  and 
there  was  nothing  in  her  tones  of  the  old,  piquant 
manner;  her  situation  had  tamed  her.  "A  young 
and  inexperienced  girl,  perhaps,  in  the  thought- 
lessness and  yjyacity  of  girlhood  has,  prompted  by 
her  not  unnatural  curiosity,  become  the  possessor 
of  a  secret,  and  now  all  the  power  of  her  enemies, 
assisted  by  purchased  legal  and  medical  authority, 
is  exerted  for  her  destruction.  No  effort  is  left  un- 
made to  ensure  her  silence,  nor  villany  spared  to 
prevent  her  from  speaking.  I  have  been  immured 
here  in  this  grated,  barred  and  bolted  prison  for 
two  whole  weeks,  a  terrible  death  suspended  over 
my  unfortunate  head,  denied  all  intercourse  with 
any  of  my  kind,  and  finally,  adjudged  a  mad  wo- 
man, that  my  enemies  may  have  a  legitimate  right 
to  constrain  me,  a  legal  right  to  abridge  my  liberty 
and  deprive  me  of  what  little  means  of  subsistence 
my  unfortunate  circumstances  have  left." 

This  was  spoken  in  such  low  and  pitiful  tones, 
so  unlike  the  usual  manner  of  the  speaker,  and  so 
different  from  what  he  had,  from  his  previous 
knowledge  of  her  character,  been  led  to  expect, 
that  the  young  man  was  utterly  at  a  loss  for  any  re- 
ply. Seeing  this  the  maiden,  with  clasped  hands 
and  dewy  eyes,  in  which  her  agony  was,  oh,  how 
plainly  written,  resumed  : — 

"•The  laws  of  the  land,  I  am  sure,  cannot  be  so 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

_^^^^-^-s_* --^•v^-^^"-'— -•*-•> 

espotic  as  to  warrant  this  usage.  Can  there  be 
any  penalty  for  knowing  too  much  of  the  transac- 
tions of  the  world  recognized  by  the  courts  of  Can- 
ada? This  seems  my  only  crime  and,  ah,  I  think 
the  punishment  is  not  commensurate  with  the  off- 
ence. Our  common  mother,  it  is  true,  was  pun- 
ished by  ejection  from  Eden  for  the  same  error,  but 
a  just  God  had  made,  by  especial  law,  its  commis- 
sion a  sin  against  Himself,  nor  did  He  pronounce 
it  an  offence  against  any  of  the  human  family." 

"But  how  could  I  help  you?"  queried  Pruvter. 
"In  that  court  I  was  powerless  to  aid." 

"Powerless  !"  she  exclaimed.  "Had  their  pur- 
pose been  to  murder  me,  would  you  have  been 
powerless?  Had  their  design  been  to  put  out  my 
eyes,  as  I  have  read,  that  in  olden  times  was  done, 
would  you  have  been  powerless?  Week,  inexpe- 
rienced, with  as  little  knowledge  of  the  world  and 
its  ways  as  I  possess,  and  a  woman,  too,  I  would 
never  have  allowed  tl>e  meanest  of  the  human  fam- 
ily, much  less,  one  of  my  unfortunate  sex  to  be  so 
treated.  No,  my  voice,  feeble  as  it  is,  would  have 
been  raised  to  its  utmost  limit  in  remonstrance,  and 
though  it  would  scarcely  have  been  noticed  by  the 
suborned  court,  I  would  have  felt  that,  at  least,  I 
had  done  my  duty  to  my  fellow  beings." 

"But  to  have  remonstrated  then  and  there  would 
have  been  as  useless  as  to  blow  my  breath  against 
a  hurricane,"  answered  the  yo.ung  man.  "Time 
and  again,  before  the  commission  was  convened,  'I 
used  my  utmost  influence  with  my  father,  to  stay 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  proceedings.  I  might  as  well  h;ive  tried  to 
tu.'n  t'.u  sun  hack  in  his  course,  or,  Joshua  like, 
have  caused  it  to  stand  still  while  I  rescued  you 
from  their  hands.  You  little  know  mv  father,  Miss 
Leonard,  when  you  dream  any  influence  save  that 
of  death  can  hinder  him  from  pursuing  a  course  of 
conduct  that  he  may  have  marked  out  for  himself." 
"And  you,  craven  like,"  and  there  was  a  trans- 
eient  Hash  of  the  old  defiant  manner  when  she  said 
it,  but  it  soon  died  out ;  "allowed  that  father  to 
pursue  a  course  of  villain,  merely  because  he  had 
elected  s-)  to  do,  without  lifting  voice  or  hand  in 
behalf  of  one  for  whom  you  profess  so  much  affec- 
tion? Dark  and  dismal  as  my  fate  is,  and  must  be, 
it  would  have  been  a  great  consolation  to  know  I 
had  one  friend  that  dared  to  make  an  effort  in  mv 
behalf,  that  one  who  professed  so  much  had  remon- 
strated, however  vainly,  against  the  great  wrong 
they  were  doing.  But  it  matters  not  by  what  means 
they  terminate  a  life  that  has  already  more  burdens 
than  it  can  wjll  bjar.  One  short  month  ago  there 
was  n:>t  a  cloud  in  the  horizon  of  my  happiness; 
to-day  the  gloom  within  successfully  rivals  that  all 
around  us  ;  then  I  was  as  cheerful  as  any  bird,  with 
only  one  cause  of  mourning,  the  death  of  mv  poor, 
abused  mother;  now  existence  has  become  a  duty 
rather  than  a  pleasure,  living  a  task  rather  than  a 
joy,  and  death  a  state  to  be  hoped  for." 

"But,  Helen,"  said  the  young  man,  thinking  that 
no  better  opportunity  would  present  itself  to  press 
his  suit,  and  moving  nearer  her  for  the  purpose, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

''had  vou  consented  to  marry  me  as  I  proposed, 
all  this  might  have  been  done  away,  and  you  now 
free  as  the  an  we  breathe." 

"And  would  my  consent,"  the  maiden  asked, 
waving  him  away  with  an  air  that  told  him  plainly 
that  she  was  fullv  in  earnest,  "would  niv  consent 
to  your  proposal  have  kept  the  poisoned  cup  from 
my  lips?  A  cup  prepared  by  your  father's  own 
hand,  on  the  night  that  I  partly  promised  to  con- 
sider upon  your  suit." 

''The  poisoned  cup  !"  he  gasped. 

"And  would  you  unite  yourself  for  life  to  a  ma- 
niac;  to  one  adjudged,  in  open  court,  a  lunatic," 
she  continued,  yet  holding  her  hand  in  the  same 
position,  as  if  still  keeping  him  at  a  distance,  "and 
propagate  a  race  of  mad  men  and  women,  to  suff- 
er my  tortures  over  and  over  again?" 

"But  I  do  not  believe  that  you  are  insane." 

"I  am  either  mad,  or  I  am  not,"  she  resumed. 
•'If  mad  I  am  unfit  to  be  mated  with  the  lowest  of 
God's  creatures  ;  unfit,  as  they  decided,  to  breathe 
the  free  air,  or  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  common 
humanity.  If  not  mad,  then  your  father,  who  is 
my  guardian,  a  physician  tolerated  in  good  society, 
a  platoon  of  ignorant  counterfeiters,  and  the  vaun- 
ted William  Howard,  have  deliberately  perjured 
themselves  before  high  heaven.  One  of  Her  Maj- 
esty's magistrates  and  a  lawyer,  sworn  to  do  justice 
by  all  men,  without  fear  or  favor,  have  aided  and 
abetted  in  as  foul  a  conspiracy  against  a  poor,  un- 
protected girl,  as  was  ever  witnessed  on  earth,  and 


THE  COUNTKKFKITKKS. 

you,  you  who  love  me  so  well,  if  your  tale  is  not 
as  false  as  many  an  one  you  have  told,  sat  by,  and 
spoke  never  a  word,  expended  not  one  breath  in 
the  cause  of  love  and  of  innocence." 

"I  tell  you  again,  Miss  Leonard, —  -"  he  began. 

"And  I  tell  you,"  she  interrupted,  with  that  hand 
as  before,  an  insurmountable  barrier  between  them, 
moving  as  he  moved,  but  flinching  never.  "I  tell 
you  that  a  dog  that  loves  his  master,  seeing  him  in 
the  postion  I  then  occupied,  would  have  bayed  de- 
fiance at  his  persecutors.  No,  Samuel  Pruyter, 
however  much  I  may  have  yielded  to  a  counterfei- 
ter, I  have  not  a  moment's  consideration  to  bestow 
upon  the  suit  of  one  who  would  not  raise  his  voice 
in  my  behalf,  of  one  who  cannot  boast  a  dumb  an- 
imal's fidelity  to  his  affection,  and  only  copy  that 
other  questionable  quality  that  prompts  him  to  lick 
the  hand  that  smites  him,  though,  perhaps,  with  a 
sullen  countenance." 

"Is  it  possible  that  this  is  the  once  gentle  Helen 
Leonard  that  I  have  known  so  long,  vet  fail  to  rec- 
ognize now?"  he  asked. 

"The  most  timid  animal  will  turn  at  bay,  when 
hardly  pressed,  and  why  should  not  I?"  and  what 
of  girlhood  she  once  possessed  was  merged  now  in 
the  maltreated  woman  ;  and  spite  of  the  tears  that 
were  not  yet  dry  or.  her  cheeks,  her  eyes  flashed, 
as  she  went  on  :  "And  why  should  not  I,  I  ask, 
who  am  a  maniac,  a  maniac?  Oh,  heaven,"  she 
exclaimed,  looking  fervently  upward,  "heaven,  in 
mercy  grant  that  I  may  not  go  mad  indeed.  Is  it 


284  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

not  enough  that  every  other  species  of  indignity, 
insult  and  injustice  should  be  supplimented  by  this  ; 
that  when  all  other  means  of  injury  are  exhausted, 
that  I  should  be  compelled  to  undergo  this  last  and 
greatest  of  all,  the  persistent,  unwelcome  address- 
es of  one  whom  I  utterly  loathe ?" 

"Helen  Leonard,"  here  interposed  Pruyter,  mad- 
dened bv  her  words  ;  "beware  how  you  stir  up  the 
d,evil  that  is  in  me  !  Beware  how  you  repudiate 
the  protection  I  have  held,  like  a  shield  over  you, 
and  drive  me  to  be  your  enemy  when  I  would  fain 
be  your  friend.  Ever  since  you  have  been  a  pris- 
oner here  I  have  shielded  you  against  those  who 
have  sought  your  life.  Ever  since  that  fatal  night 
when  you  possessed  yourself  of  our  secret,  that  it 
is  pronounced  in  our  community  death  to  learn,  I 
have  watched  over  your  safety  from  within  and 
without.  That  my  love  for  you  was  not  the  growth 
of  an  hour  you  well  know.  Childhood  witnessed 
its  incipient  existence  and  growing  years  unfolded 
growing  affection.  Time  and  time  again  you  have 
repulsed  me,  and  still  I  have  loved.  It  has  grown 
with  my  growth  and  strengthened  with  my  strength. 
I  did  not  place  you  in  your  present  position  ;  nor 
did  I  take  advantage  of  that  position  to  further  my 
suit,  only  for  your  own  benefit ;  ar.d  I  should  have 
made  the  same  proposals  had  you  never  known  our 
jealously  guarded  secret." 

It  was  well,  perhaps,  in  delaying  a  fate  that  was 
even  now  stooping  over  her,  as  the  vulture  stoops 
over  the  lamb  in  whose  flesh  his  talons  are  about  to 


TILE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

be  clenched,  that  the  young  man's  speech  was  so 
lengthy.  She  had  been  gradually  working  herself 
up  to  a  pitcli  of  fren/v,  by  a  rehearsal  of  her  inju- 
ries, and  when  he  dared  to  threaten  her,  she  was 
preparing  to  make  some  reply  that  would,  indeed, 
have  awakened  the  devil  in  him  ;  but  as  he  contin- 
ued, she  had  time  to  think,  and  before  he  had  con- 
cluded she  had  seen  the  danger  to  which  her  course 
was  leading  her,  and  as  his  words  moderated,  as  he 
went  on,  her  temper  cooled  and  she  finally  brought 
herself  to  the  condition  she  had,  at  the  commence- 
ment established  herself  in,  and  replied  in  a  man- 
ner and  voice  corresponding  with  it,  though  still 
without  yielding:  — 

"Heaven  knows,  Mr.  Pruvter,  that  I  would  make 
none  mv  enemv  who  is  now  mv  friend,  for  I  have 
none  to  spare,  were  they  as  numerous  as  the  sands 
on  the  lake  shore." 

"•And  do  you  doubt  the  sincerity  of  mv  friend- 
ship, Helen?"  he  asked.  "It  is  true  I  made  no  ver- 
bal '  remonstrance  to  the  proceedings  of  to-day's 
court,  knowing  how  useless  it  must  be;  while  it, 
at  the  same  tinu,  would  put  it  out  of  my  power  to 
have  assisted  you  in  the  future,  which  it  is  my  in- 
tention to  do." 

••  What  ?"  she  asked,  bending  towards  him  with 

entreaty  in  her  eves.      "Would  you  really  aid  me? 

Would  you  set  me  free  of  this  duress?      You  have 

the  power,  I  know,  and  if  there  is  any  sincerity  in 

your  protestations,  vou  will  exert  it." 

"I  have  not  the  power,"  he  replied:    "at    leas!. 


286  T11K  COl'NTKKKKI 

not  to  the  extent  to  which  you  would  claim  it  goes, 
for  I.  as  well  as  yourself,  am  watched.  But  give 
me  your  word,  Helen,  I  will  trust  vou,  that  once 
pledged  and  despite  all  efforts  that  may  be  made  to 
prevent,  I  will  place  you  beyond  these  walls.  No 
constraint  shall  be  put  upon  vou,  save  that  which 
your  promise  exerts,  and  a  proper  degree  of  espi- 
onage that  caution  would  suggest  to  prevent  an  un- 
guarded betrayal  of  our  secret." 

"Free  in  body  but  trammelled  in  soul,"  Helen 
slowly  said,  as  she  fell  into  a  fit  of  musing,  from 
which  the  young  man  hesitated  to  arouse  her,  sat- 
isfied as  he  was,  that  the  inducements  he  had  held 
out  were  worthy  of  consideration.  And,  indeed, 
whether  worthy  or  not,  they  received  it.  Was  she 
not  justified  in  making  such  a  promise,  even  when 
she  did  not  intend  keeping  it?  Would  not  there 
be  many  a  pitying  angel's  tear  ready  to  fall,  ;i'id 
blot  out  the  record  of  the  falsehood  ?  But  she  had 
the  guaranty  of  the  strange  woman  that  within  one 
week  she  should  he  free.  Had  she  the  power  to 
make  that  guaranty  good?  And  if  so.  might  not 
the  poison  be  again  presented  and  no  one  there  to 
snatch  it  away  ?  Might  not  her  mysterious  visita'nt 
be  discovered  by  the  argus  eyes  thai  watched  over 
the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  and  her  efforts  made 
unavailing?  These  thoughts  flashed  through  her 
mind,  and  then  came  the  rccolledion  of  Herbert 
Lorimer,  and  all  the  questions  were  answered,  in 
a  breath.  She  would  not  so  demean  herself,  and. 
raising  her  head,  she  resumed  : — 


™ 

"•Tills  is  all  of  no  avail.  Mr.  Pruyter.  I  cannot 
make  such  a  promise,  for  I  should  make  it  hut  to 
break  it.  As  von  surmised,  on  a  former  occasion, 
my  heart  is  not  mine  to  bestow,  and  my  hand  shall 
never  be  separated  from  it  when  given  to  man." 

"Is  this  your  unalterable  decision,  Helen?"  said 
Pruyter,  and  an  expression  of  real  pain  passed  over 
his  features  and  his  voice  perceptibly  trembled  as 
he  spoke.  "Will  not  a  lifetime  of  devotion  touch 
your  obdurate  heart?  Were  it  not  for  my  great 
love  I  would  not  so  plead,  and  God  knows  that  if 
in  all  else  I  am  false,  in  my  attention  for  you  I  am 
sincere  and  true.  Think  well,  Helen,  before  you 
fully  answer.  It  is  in  your  hands  to  make  me  a 
man  or  a  Hend.  I  have  promised  you  that  if  you 
will  accept  my  hand,  that  I  will  forsake  all  my  evil 
courses,  and  live  an  upright,  honorable  life,  wholly 
devoted  to  yon,  but  if  you  will  not,  my  downfall 
must  lie  at  your  door.  Do  with  me  as  you  will." 

"While  I  sincerely  pity  you,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  she" 
said,  with  much  feeling  in  her  voice  and  looks,  yet 
with  a  gentle  firmness  that  would  brook  no  refusal, 
or  argument;    "I  must  make  the  same  answer.      I 
cannot  marry  you.      I  must  not  !" 

••And  this  is  the  end?" 

••And  this  is  the  end  !" 

"Then  God  forgive  you  and — me,"  lie  said  half- 
monrnfullv,  hair-threateningly,  and  without  anoth- 
er word,  he  left  the  room. 


288  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

•^-^~«.~*^_~—~— -^-~~~ '~~-^- ^ 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

INFORMATION     PROMISED. 

|>O  a  man  of  Herbert  Lorimer's  high-strung 
disposition,  the  foil  that  he  had  sustained 
from  the  arch-schemer,  Printer,  in  an  un- 
dertaking he  had  so  much  at  heart  was  in- 
deed humiliating ;  more  so  than  to  one  of  less  tine 
sensibilities.  He  attributed  much  of  his  adversa- 
ry's success  to  the  unfortunate  situation  into  which 
his  espousal  of  the  lost  cause,  to  borrow  a  modern 
expression,  had  thrown  him,  and  he  registered  an 
internal  oath  that  he  would  make  all  honorable  ef- 
forts to  change  the  state  of  affairs.  But,  in  the 
mean  time,  what  could  he  do  for  her,  for  whom 
his  very  want  of  success  was  increasing  a  love  that 
was  even  before,  of  such  strength  as  to  cause  him 
more  uneasiness  than  had  fallen  to  his  lot. 

What  reckless  or  foolhardy  enterprise  his  cha- 
grin and  affedlion,  a  somewhat  incongruous  mixt- 
ure, would  have  led  him  to  undertake,  can  scarcely 
be  guessed  at,  for  he  was  ripe  for  any  exploit  how- 
ever quixotic  or  unreasonable,  and  some  strange 
conceits  were  beginning  to  dance  through  his  brain 
as  his  horse  dashed  recklessly-  down  the  rough  road, 
when  his  career  was  checked  by  the  voice  of  a  wo- 
man pronouncing  his  name.  Surprised  at  an  oc- 
currence so  strange,  he  drew  his  rein  and  obedient 
Logan  paused  so  suddenly  that  he  was  but  just  op- 
posite the  speaker  when  his  headlong  speed  was 
changed  to  a  walk,  and  then  to  a  halt. 


TIIK  COUNTERFEITERS'. 

"Who  speaks  that  name  within  the  bounds  of 
this  detestable  demesne?"  he  asked,  as  through  the 
glo>>m  he  just  discovered  a  shadowy  form  not  fully 
concealed  by  the  roadside. 

••One  who  has  a  fe\v  words  to  sav  to  a  disap- 
pointed man,"  the  voice  replied  ;  "one  who  though 
a  mysterious  personage,  takes  no  advantage  of  the 
fact  to  plav  the  part  of  goblin  or  spirit  in  this  their 
favorite  tramping  g  round  ;  nor  of  her  knowledge 
•of  the  past,  present  or  future,  to  pretend  to  powers 
of  second  sight  or  fortune-telling  ;  but,  as  I  said,  to 
sav  a  few  words  to  Herbert  Lorimer." 

"•And  what  to  Herbert  Lorimer?"  he  asked,  as 
he  dismounted  and  stood  before  her:  ''for  to  the 
appellation  disappointed  I  own  up,  though  it  is  a 
good  deal  humiliating  to  make  the  confession." 

"I  have  this  to  say  to  you,"  replied  the  woman, 
••that  any  efforts  on  your  part,  though  laudable  and 
fully  to  be  expected  from  one  of  your  enterprising 
character,  having  for  their  purpose  the  present  as- 
sistance of  Helen  Leonard,  are  worse  than  useless. 
When  you  know  William  Pruvter  as  well  as  I  do, 
you  will  have  learned  that  he  is  always  armed,  at 
all  points,  and  for  every  nature  of  attack,  and  that 
a  knowledge  of  any  efforts  being  made  or  contem- 
plated, but  puts  him  the  more  surely  on  his  guard, 
lie  is  of  that  disposition,  like  the  Mohawk  Indian, 
who  would  brain  his  prisoner  before  it  should  be 
delivered  up  to  any  man.  Your  fruitless  underta- 
kings but  increase  her  danger,  while  it  is  impossi- 
ble any  result  but  that  of  to-night,  is  attained." 


21)0 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


She  paused  a  moment,  but  as  Lorimer  made  no 
remark,  she  continued  : — 

"One  is  watching  over  her  with  an  eye  that 
never  tires  in  its  vigil ;  one  who  will  suffer  death, 
herself,  ere  she  will  allow  one  hair  of  the  head  of 
Arthur  Leonard's  only  child  be  displaced.  Not  a 
movement  of  William  Pruyter  is  allowed  to  pass 
unnoted,  and  a  construction  put  upon  it  that  never 
fails  to  be  correct.  Wait  patientlv  for  one  week, 
and  she  you  love  and  who  loves  vou,' shall  be  free." 
But  the  time  is  not  yet." 

"I  will  not  wait;  will  not  relax  one  iota " 

"•Don't  interrupt  a  lady,  Mr.  Lorimer,"  she  in- 
terposed in  a  gayer  tone  than  she  had  before  used. 
"I  promise  that  if  you  will  leave  the  matter  in  my 
hands,  ere  seven  davs  from  the  present,  she  shall 
be  in  your  arms ;  for  she  is  longing  to  rest  there  ; 
but  if  you  interfere,  vou  may  close  the  avenue  my 
patience  has  opened,  and  you  may  lose  her  forever. 
But  the  time  is  not  yet." 

"And  how  may  I  be  assured  that  you  are  able  to 
accomplish  all  you  promise?"  asked  Lorimer,  gaz- 
ing abstractedly  down  the  gorge.  '"How  am  I  to 
know  but  you  are  an  emissary  of  this  same  old  vil- 
lain, and  take  this  means  to  prevent  the  efforts,  he 
must  be  convinced  1  shall  not  cease  to  make,  save 
with  my  life,  or  she  is  free." 

He  turned  for  an  answer,  but  he,  except  his  good 
horse,  was  alone.  Her  retreating  feet  had  made 
no  sound.  It  seemed  she  had  finished  her  errand. 
and  her  task  was  done.  He  hastilv  searched  the 


K  COUNTERFEITERS. 

bushes  near  which  he  stood,  quickly  mounted  and 
rode  back  and  forth  up  and  down  the  road,  but  she 
had  disappeared  as  effectually  as  a  pebble  dropped 
in  the  lake,  but  she  had  left  no  ripple  behind  her, 
>  show  where  last  she  was  seen. 

The  mysterious  words  of  this  mysterious  female, 
whom  the  reader  may  readily  recognize  had  at  least 
two  beneficial  effects;  for  they  not  only  changed 
the  current  of  the  doctor's  thoughts,  from  a  fierce 
brooding  over  his  repulse,  to  those  of  wonder,  dis- 
trust and  perplexity,  but  saved  Logan  and  his  mate 
on  which  Hector  was  mounted,  from  a  hard,  long 
gallop  that  otherwise  they  must  have  had,  for  when 
a  man  is  maddened,  the  same  that  lashes  his  own 
feelings  into  frenzy  is  apt  to  communicate  itself  to 
all  connected  with  him,  while  more  complex  and 
less  harrassing,  meditations  are  not  usually  so  pre- 
monitive  of  a  desire  toflv  from  them  by  the  speed 
of  his  conveyance.  Though  wrapped  in  his  own 
bitter  cogitations,  Herbert  found  time  to  relate  the 
adventures  of  the  night  to  his  brother  and  receive, 
as  before  recorded,  the  left-handed  consolation  thai 
diminutive  gentleman  saw  fit  to  give. 

Conscious  as  Herbert  Lori  mer  was  of  the  disad- 
vantage under  which  he  labored,  while  he  endea- 
vored to  operate  on  Canadian  soil,  immediately  af- 
ter his  arrival  at  the  temporary  home  he  had  made 
with  Dan  Morrison,  he  set  about  a  project  he  had, 
for  the  last  day  or  two  contemplated;  that  was,  to 
procure  his  pardon  for,  or  compromise  the  penalty 
of  his  crime  in  taking  up  arms  against  Her  most 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Gracious  Majesty,  by  paying  such  an  amount  of 
fine  as  the  new  Governor  General  should  impose. 
He  had  taken  the  precaution,  before  lie  entered  in- 
to his  undertaking,  to  make  over  his  property  to  a 
friend,  in  trust,  in  anticipation  ofany  untoward  re- 
sult of  the  rebellion,  and  to  guard  against  any  se- 
questration or  confiscation  of  his  estate  which  the 
powers  that  were,  in  Canada,  might  take  upon 
themselves  to  pass  upon  him,  should  an  opportunity 
offer,  under  other  circumstances. 

The  next  day  as  well  as  the  one  following  it  was 
storm  v  ;  a  cold  rain  ceaselessly  falling,  accompani- 
ed by  an  east  wind,  one  of  the  most  uncomfortable 
quarters  from  which  a  wind  may  come;  for  while 
a  northern  or  western  gale  is  often  colder,  we  are, 
in  a  measure,  prepared  for  it.  The  earth  was  sod- 
den and  manv  a  rill  was  making  its  way  over  the 
sward  to  mingle  its  waters  with  the  swollen  brook 
or  rushing  river.  There  was  out  little  travel,  but 
the  horses  of  the  few  who  were  compelled  to  brave 
the  storm,  either  by  necessary  business,  or  to  gain 
the  home  the  rain  had  overtaken  them,  in  their  at- 
tempt to  reach,  and  who  halted  at  the  favorite 
tavern,  looked  forlorn  and  dissatisfied  and  shook 
their  heads  to  any  pause  that  kept  them  longer  ex- 
posed to  the  pelting  of  the  pitiless  storm.  The 
riders  or  drivers  of  the  despondent  animals  would 
stop  only  long  enough  to  attempt,  by  certain  addi- 
tions they  made  to  the  moisture  to  restore  the  lost 
evuilibrium  of  too  much  wet  on  the  outside,  when 
they  were  so  dry  within.  The  old  sign,  when  it 


swung  to  the  south,  or  toward  the  king  of  birds  in- 
scribed thereon,  would  give  an  unearthly  creak,  as 
it"  endeavoring  to  mimic  the  unmusical  croak  of 
that  much  vaunted  fowl,  and  when  it  returned, 
grated  a  more  discordant  note,  fairlv  mocking  the 
abject  whine  of  the  king  of  beasts,  toward  which 
it  waved  ;  and  as  rovaltv  thus  complained,  com- 
monalitv,  out  of  respect,  held  its  peace. 

Two  days  of  storm  and  discomfort,  but  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  the  sun  rose  from  his  eastern 
home  with  a  broad  grin  on  his  round  face,  and  all 
nature  smiled  in  unison.  The  birds  that  had  been 
confined  to  their  leafy  shelters,  now  came  out  with 
a  hop  and  a  song,  all  the  more  blithe  and  musical 
for  the  many  hours  they  had  been  compelled  to  be 
silent.  Several  red  squirrels  could  be  seen  chasing 
each  other  up  the  trees,  or  along  the  top  rail  of  the 
fence;  the  crows,  flapping  their  black  wings,  in 
flight  across  the  fields,  hoarsely  cawed  their  delight 
at  the  change,  and  the  barn  pigeons  strutted  and 
cooed  around  the  yard  or  waved  their  dreamy  wings 
as  they  rose  for  an  instant,  to  alight  again,  close  at 
hand.  The  rills,  not  vet  entirely  dry,  sparkled  in 
the  sun's  rays,  like  silver  chains  drawn  through  the 
grass,  and,  though  the  brooks  and  rivers  were  as 
high,  perhaps  higher  than  the  day  before,  they  had 
not  that  dark,  turbid  appearance  as  when  they  re- 
flected only  dark,  lowering,  vapor-ladened  clouds. 
The  old  sign  had  ceased  to  swing,  or  its  bearings 
had  worn  smooth  ;  the  eagle  seemed  to  perch  high- 
er, and  the  lion  to  elevate  still  more,  his  head  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^•^~--V^_^^--~ -S^~^^^-N_^_^_^- 

tail  as.  rampant,  he  gazed  down  and  around,  as  if 
in  search  of  the  bird  he  so  heartily  detested  whose 
complainings  he  had  so  often  heard  for  the  last  two 
days ;  and  nature,  with  washed  face,  was  cleaner 
and  greener  for  the  much  needed  ablution.  While 
Mav  had  passed  away  in  tears  and  sighs,  June  had 
come  in  with  a  laugh  ;  perhaps  the  coy  maiden  was 
offended  and  wept  in  her  anger,  as  other  maidens 
do,  because  the  romping  fellow  that  followed  her 
in  the  catalogue  of  the  year,  slighted  her  love  or, 
at  least,  did  not'show  a  proper  state  of  melancholy 
as  its  effect. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  later  described  day,  Dan 
Morrison  and  his  daughter,  Elsie,  with  the  broth- 
ers, Lorimer,  were  seated  on  the  long  verandah  of 
the  house.  Dan  was  cleaning  his  rifle,  Elsie  en- 
gaged in  some  light  needle  work,  (perhaps  some 
other  dandv  had  sought  her  services)  ;  Herbert  was 
smoking  one  of  Dan's  best  cigars,  warranted  Ha- 
vana filled,  and  Hector  was  teasing  a  great,  good- 
natured  hound  belonging  to  Morrison. 

"I  say,  Herbert,"  said  Heclor,  when  he  had  suc- 
ceeded, at  last,  in  making  the  canine  believe  that 
he  was  assailed  by  at  least  a  score  of  hornets,  and 
had  taken  flight  in  consequence;  "why  don't  you 
write  a  book  ?  You  might  relate  your  own  expe- 
rience for  the  last  fortnight  and,  under  some  flam- 
ing title,  like  'The  Last  Trick ;  or  Old  Printer's 
Right  Bower ;  A  Tale  of  the  Pursuit  of  Knowl- 
edge Under  Difficulties  ;'  or,  The  Broken  Bracelet ; 
or  Love  in  a  Quanderv  !'  it  would  have  an  immense 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

sale.  There  is  many  a  novel  written  with  far  less 
plot  than  is  comprehended  in  your  late  adventures, 
around  old  Pruvter's  shebang. " 

"And  I  might  interpolate  an  introduced  story." 
laughingly  retorted  Herbert,  in  the  same  strain  ; 
"entitled,  An  Ape  upon  Horseback;  or,  Chivalry 
Run  Mad." 

"With  the  denouement  that  the  ape  was  success- 
ful, while  the  hero  of  the  main  romance  was  most 
essentially  and  most  confoundedly  beaten,"  retort- 
ed the  mischievous  dwarf. 

"Beaten  for  the  nonce,  but  conqueror  in  the  se- 
quel," said  Lorimer.  "You  would  not  have  your 
hero  always  successful,  would  you?  There  would 
be  but  little  interest  in  a  tale  where  uniform  pros- 
perity, in  all  his  undertakings,  attended  the  main 
character,  and  unvarying  defeat  accompanied  the 
villain  of  the  narrative.  Variety  is  the  spice  of  real 
life,  they  say,  and  surely  the  fictitious  life  depicted 
bv  a  romancer's  pen,  should  not  be  wanting  in  so 
essential  a  condiment." 

"I  conclude,  then,  that  the  adventures  of  the  last 
chapter  are  not  yet  enacted,  but,"  said  Hector,  and 
he  cast  a  sly  glance  st  the  pre-engaged  Elsie  as  he 
continued;  "as  I  am  something  of  a  bungler  in 
books,  I  will  leave  my  side  of  the  question  to  be 
more  ably  handled  by  Esquire  Roberts  who,  I  see, 
is  making  his  way  towards  us,  after  having  for  two 
days,  followed  the  example  of  the  sun,  and  with- 
held the  light  of  his  benigh  countenance  from  us. 
Seven-by-nine,"  he  qualified,  in  a  lower  tone,  but 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS 

^s~*s-^-*^^-r^- ~^-^-^^^^^^^-~^^~ 

not  so  low  that  Elsie  did  not  hear  it,  and  laughed, 
much  to  the  disarrangement  of  the  demure  face  she 
had  drawn  on,  when  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
approaching  pedestrian. 

"Just  in  time,  Esquire  Roberts,"  said  Herbert, 
shoving  the  chair  on  which  his  feet  had  rested,  to- 
ward the  new  arrival ;  "just  in  time  to  decide  up- 
on a  knotty  point  in  taste." 

"And  what  may  the  question  be  ?"  asked  the  law- 
yer, after  he  had  saluted  the  other  members  of  the 
party  and  ejected  somewhere  near  a  gill  of  tobacco 
juice  from  his  mouth,  closing  one  eye  as  he  did  so. 

"Whether  the  hero  of  a  romance  should  meet 
other  than  success  in  his  adventures,  or  should  oc- 
casionally encounter  defeat  in  order  to  give  variety 
to  the  relation." 

"Originality,"  responded  the  lawyer,  throwing 
himself  back  in  his  chair,  with  an  air  that  plainlv 
said  :  "You  could  not  have  left  the  decision  of  that 
question  toan  abler  judge  ;"  "originality  is  the  first 
end  to  be  attained,  not  only  in  style  but  in  plot. 
Marryatt  carried  his  pursuit  of  originality  so  far  that 
in  the  'King's  Own,'  he  killed  the  hero  just  at  the 
time  he  had  overcome  all  obstacles  and  had  joined 
his  chosen.  Scott,  on  the  contrary,  invariably  gives 
us  pleasant  denouements,  except,  perhaps,  in  his 
poorest  effort,  'bt.  Ronan's  Well,'  and  'The  Bride 
of  Lammermoor,'  but  seeks  his  characters  from 
among  the  known  adventurers  of  his  own  wild 
clime ;  hence  his  originality.  Other  and  lesser 
lights  varv  as  the  mood  takes  them  ;  but  general! v 


THE  COrXTEHFEITERS. 

telling  about  the  same  story,  embellished  by  about 
the  sain*  incidents,  and  full  of  hackneyed  phrases 
and  trite  sayings,  with  about  the  same  finale,  until 
a  single  new  idea  ;  an  original  simile,  or  novel  plan 
has  become  so  scarce  that  a  reader  needs  nod,  like 
a  mandarin  before  a  tea  shop,  if  he  has  enough 
civility  to  make  a  bow  to  every  old  acquaintance 
he  meets  when  reading  the  novels  of  to-day." 

Having  arrived  at  a  period  in  his  discourse  where 
he  might  pause  long  enough  to  count  about  a  doz- 
en, he  again  freed  his  tongue  of  that  which  impe- 
ded its  motion,  as  back-water  does,  sometimes,  a 
water  motor,  and  opened  the  eye  that  he  had  closed 
during  the  process,  was  about  to  continue,  when 
he  was  reminded  by  Hector  that  he  had  not  vet  an- 
swered the  question  propounded. 

"Just  what  I  was  coming  at,  sir,"  he  said,  in  a 
tone  that  he  meant  to  be  haughty,  but  failed  in  get- 
ting farther  than  spiteful.  '"The  incidents  and  ac- 
cidents of  everv-day  life,  be  they  ever  so  favorable 
in  the  main,  are  varied  by  the  fluctuations  of  for- 
tuitous circumstances,  and  an  acurate  delineation 
of  character,  a  true  narrator  of  events,  must  needs, 
to  make  his  story  life-like,  copy  life,  although  he 
may.  as  many  do.  adopt  the  other  plan  and,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  selects  an  uninteresting  charact- 
er, relate  only  such  parts  of  his  adventures  as  he 
knows  will  please  the  reader.  As  a  matter  of  taste 
1  am,  perhaps,  less  able  to  judge  than  Miss  Elsie. 
The  female  mind  is  apter  at  nice  distinctions  than 
is  the  male.  It  is  more  the  creature  of  impulse; 


2CJ.S  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

and  impnlse,  as  scientists  have  held,  results  from 
the  attentions." 

Thus  appealed  to  and  understanding  the  words 
of  her  admirer  full  as  little  as  he  did,  himself,  El- 
sie, looking  up  from  her  work,  simply  said  : — 

"If  you  ask  inv  opinion,  I  must  say  that  if  a  story 
has  a  good  come  out  to  it,  I  care  not  what  adven- 
tures the  hero  undergoes,  provided  they  are  of  suf- 
ficient interest  to  keep  my  hair  standing  continual- 
ly on  end,  during  its  perusal." 

The  back-water  was  again  disturbing  the  free 
workings  of  the  machinery  of  his  word-fa <5torv,  or 
Roberts  would  have  made  some  remark,  agreeing, 
of  course,  with  the  ladv's  ideas,  as  it  was,  He6tor 
said : — 

"Give  me  a  beautiful  heroine,  full  of  softness  and 
simplicity — country  bred  preferred — two  rivals  for 
her  hand,  the  one,  say,  a  Captain,  the  other,  per- 
haps a  miner,  with  a  fierce  parent  that  has  a  trump 
for  every  trick  in  the  game  of  life  depicted,  and  a 
right  bower  for  the  last.  Give  to  the  rivals  a  fail- 
field  and  no  favor,  and  let  the  lady  take  her  pick. 
At  the  end  let  them  all  hug,  kiss  and  shake  hands, 
and  hate  each  other  forever  afterwards." 

While  Roberts  was  preparing  some  answer  to 
this  remark,  the  point  of  which  he  failed  to  see,  a 
boy,  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age,  rode  up 
to  the  verandah,  and  addressing  Herbert,  said  : — 

"You're  Mister  Dodor  Lorimer,  ain't  ye?  Ef 
ye  are,  there's  a  letter  fur  ye." 

Lorimer    took    the    missive,  which  had  become 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

somewhat  dilapidated  in  the  hands  of  the  slovenly 
messenger,  and  hastily  tearing  it  open,  he  read  its 
rather  lengthy  contents. 

"Where  did  you  get  this?"  he  asked  of  the  boy, 
at  the  same  time  handing  the  letter  to  Morrison, 
who  began  its  perusal.  "Who  gave  it  to  you?" 

"I've  been  up  to  Steadville,  and  jest  as  I  was  a 
comin'  away,  that  are  Bill  Howard  that  uset  to  be 
hostler  here,  gin  it  to  me,"  said  the  boy.  "He  was 
mighty  partic'lar  that  I  should  put  it  right  intu 
yer  own  hand,  'cause  he  said  'twas  'portant." 

"Well,  here's  a  quarter  for  your  services,"  said 
Lorimer,  giving  him  the  money,  then  turning  to 
Morrison  who  was  reading  the  letter,  he  watched 
his  face  with  some  degree  of  anxiety. 

The  latter  individual,  after  finishing  the  perusal 
turned  back  and  again  traced  the  lines  through. 
They  were  as  follows  : — 

"FRIEND  LORIMER: — 

Of  course  you  were  surprised  at  the  very 
cool  reception  I  gave  you,  on  the  last  occasion  of 
our  meeting.  The  fac;t  is,  that  soon  after  I  started 
in  compliance  with  the  urgent  request,  contained 
in  your  note,  I  discovered  that  I  was  followed  and 
without  disclosing  my  discovery,  was  enabled  to 
ascertain  that  my  employer,  himself,  was  the  gen- 
tleman who  was  dogging  my  footsteps.  He  is  too 
old  a  head  to  be  pnt  ofl"  his  scent,  and  I  was  oblig- 
ed to  pursue  the  course  I  did,  in  order  to  retain  my 
place.  I  am,  as  ever,  ready  to  assist  my  friends, 
whether  of  long  or  short  continuance.  I  have  taken 


300 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


some  pains  since  that  night  to  ascertain  the  condi- 
tion of  the  lady,  and  find  that  I  have  much  to  tell 
you.  If  you  will  meet  me,  the  day  after  to-mor- 
row evening,  at  dusk,  bv  the  little  bridge,  where 
the  road  from  the  mines  reaches  the  Hat,  I  can  tell 
you  much  that  will  be  of  interest,  and  that  you 
should  know.  The  old  man  is  more  than  Argus- 
eyed,  and  I  have  taken  advantage  of  being  at  Stead- 
ville  to  write  and  dispatch  this.  Come  alone,  for 
any  company  would  surely  be  detected.  Give  mv 
respecls  to  Dan  and  Miss  Elsie. 

Respectfully  your  friend, 

WILLIAM  HOWARD. 

Steadville,  June  i,  1838." 

"And  what  do  you  propose  to  do,  in  the  case.'" 
asked  Dan,  laying  the  letter  on  his  knee  while  he 
primed  his  rifle  that,  during  the  foregoing  conver- 
sation, he  had  finished  cleaning  and  had  loaded. 

"To  go,  of  course,"  answered  Lorimer;  "if  for 
nothing  more,  to  apologize  for  the  hard  thoughts  I 
have  harbored  against  him  for  the  last  three  days." 

"But  may  not  our  friend  of  the  many  wiles;  he 
who  always  holds  the  right  bower  for  the  last  trick, 
as  Heclor  suggests,  get  some  inkling  of  it  through 
some  of  his  many  means  of  gaining  intelligence, 
and  be  near  at  hand  to  make  your  arrest  certain?" 

"I  think  not,"  replied  Herbert.  "Our  friend, 
the  writer,  seems  to  have  had  some  such  idea  in 
view  when  he  wrote  from  Steadville.  Yes,  I  shall 
go,  and  at  the  time  appointed,  if  the  whole  British 
army  awaits  my  coming!" 


THE  C-OUNTHKFKITEK.S. 

-~— r**, «^->— ~^~**~*^^^^*>^^^-*-^. 

•'With  the  assurance  you  have  from  the  myste- 
rious party,  would  it  not  be  best  to  await  the  arri- 
val of  certain  documents  from  headquarters;  and 
then  all  such  plans  would  piove  abortive?" 

Here  the  speaker  happening  to  look  into  the  face 
of  the  lawyer,  saw  something  there  that  brought 
his  sentence  to  a  somewhat  abrupt  per  iod.  There 
was  an  expression  of  eager  curiosity,  of  malicious 
cunning,  not  unmixed  with  apprehension.  At  a 
loss  to  account  for  these  manifestations,  Dan  paus- 
ed, not  so  much  from  fear  of  the  consequences  of 
a  further  disclosure  of  their  purpose,  as  from  an 
ever  present  caution  that  nun  are  ape,  in  troublous 
times,  to  acquire.  At  that  mstant,  a  partridge 
swept  by,  and  apparently  alighted  in  a  tiee,  but  a 
few  paces  from  the  house.  This  was  fortunate  for 
Morrison,  who  was  hunting  for  some  excuse  to  get 
Lorimer  away  from  the  lawyer,  and  he  took  prompt 
advantage  of  the  circumstance,  to  request  his  com- 
pany while  he  took  a  shot  at  the  bird.  Hector 
would  have  accompanied  them,  but  his  ready  wit 
discovered  that  they  wished  to  be  alone,  and  he 
tarried  to  prevent  Roberts  from  going  too. 

In  furtherance  of  this  object  he  endeavored  to 
enter  into  a  conversation  with  the  lawyer,  but  that 
individual  answered  in  monosvlables,  for  since  the 
departure  of  the  two  men,  his  wits  seemed  to  be 
woolgathering.  Frustrated  in  this  undertaking,  the 
young  man  commenced  a  flirtation  with  Elsie,  in 
which  many  a  shre\\d  saying  was  bandied  back 
and  forth  between  thim.  This  artilice  had  a  more 


302 


'I  I  IK  CDI'NTKHFEITKHS. 


depressing  effect  on  the  lawyer  than  had  even  the 
foil  he  had  met  with  in  not  being  able  to  learn  fur- 
ther of  the  contents  of  the  letter,  for  his  was  a  na- 
ture so  jealous  that  he  could  not  abide  the  caresses 
of  a  dog  even,  when  bestowed  upon  the  object  of 
his  selfish  affections.  To  counteract  any  influence 
that  the  dwarf  might  have  upon  his  lady-love,  he 
began  to  gather  his  wandering  thoughts  and  to  ad- 
dress her,  but  with  scant  consolation. 

In  the  meantime,  Morrison  and  his  companion 
had  gained  the  shelter  of  the  trees,  and  Dan.  turn- 
ing to  the  other,  asked  :  — 

•'What,  in  the  devil's  name,  is  that  red-headed 
Paul  Prv's  interest  in  your  affairs,  that  makes  him 
watch  vour  every  word  and  action  as  closely  as  a 
cat  would  those  of  a  mouse.'" 

"Nothing  more  than  his  usual  intrusive  curiosi- 
ty, I  apprehend,"  replied  Lorimer;  '"or,  perhaps, 
the  mention  of  Howard's  name,  by  the  boy,  set  him 
to  thinking;  for,  do  you  know  that  he  is  jealous 
of  our  handsome  friend,  and  naturally  would  be 
anxious  to  know  all  his  movements?" 

"Jealous!"  responded  Morrison,  with  an  impa- 
tient gesture.  "I  should  like  to  know  by  what 
authority.  It  comes  of  the  freak  of  that  imp  of  an 
Elsie,  in  tolerating  him.  I  told  her  what  would 
come  of  it,  but  she  wanted  the  fun,  she  said." 

"But  about  this  meeting  with  Howard,"  said 
Lorimer.  "I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  be  guided 
by  the  mysterious  woman's  advice,  and  await  the 
seven  days  hoping  that,  in  the  interval  my  pardon 


THK  COUNTKRFEITEKS. 

would  arrive  ;  but  Howard  would  not  write  unless 
there  was  something  of  importance  to  communi- 
cate. He  says,  YOU  see,  that  it  should  be  known 
to  me.  I  wish  he  had  appointed  some  place  for 
the  meeting,  a  little  farther  from  the  stone  house: 
but  I  can  hitch  Logan  in  the  clump  of  bushes  just 
this  side,  and  tbe\  must  be  fast  runners  who  can 
overtake  me  before  I  can  reach  him  and  mount." 

••That  is  all  vei  \  true."  replied  Morrison  :  ."but. 
after  all.  I  fear  the  old  schemer.  Anv  intimation 
that  vim  are  again  prowling  around  his  lair,  \\iil 
set  the  old  villain  to  hatching  means  for  vour  dis- 
comiiture.  IK  thc'wav.  Doctor,  1  think  I  have  the 
solution  of  the  riddle,  whv  he-  \\atches  the  gill  so 
Zealously.  Arthur  Le  mard  died  possessed  of  quite 
a  property,  and  by  some  hocus-pocus,  it  has  come 
into  his  hands  and,  no  doubt,  he  is  suspicious  that 
her  husband,  should  she  lind  one  not  in  his  inter- 
ests, might  investigate  his  title  too  closely." 

"Wight,  Dan,  right!"  exclaimed  Lorimer ;  "I 
have  studied  on  the  subject  not  a  little  but  have  not 
arrived  at  half  so  plausible  a  reason." 

Just  then  Morrison  caught  sight  of  the  bird  and 
bv  a  well  directed  shot  brought  it  down.  Taking 
the  plump  carcase  in  his  hand,  Dan,  accompanied 
bv  Lorimer,  made  his  \\av  to  the  house,  vshere  he 
was  soon  engaged  in  serving  several  travelers  \\lio 
had  just  arrived,  with  such  articles  of  food,  drink 
or  fumigation  as  each  demanded,  at  the  same  time, 
hearing  and  imparting  such  items  of  news,  as  thev 
or  he  had  tell. 


I  HK  COr.NTKKFKl  I  i:i:s. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A    SKIRMISH    AND    AN    AI    \K.V. 

hIE  cautious  Scotchman,  Alick  Cameron, 
continued  ostensibly  to  make  his  brother's 
house  his  home.  Whether  the  recent  proc- 
lamation included  himself  or  not,  he  had 
not  fully  made  up  his  mind,  and  where  there  was  a 
doubt,  he  was  resolved  to  make  sure  and  remained 
on  the  safer  side  of  the  boundary."  Before  Captain 
Lorimer  had  made  his  appearance  on  the  scene, 
Alick  had  been  the  prime  mover  in  the  opposition 
to  government  at  Steadville,  and  since  had  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  recruiting,  and  encouraging  the 
organization  to  acts  of  insurrection.  According  to 
the  strict  reading  of  the  document  on  which  his  fate 
hung,  he  was  pardoned,  for  he  had  held  no  com- 
mission ;  but  he  had  no  great  confidence  in  the 
military  power,  and  knew  full  well  that  if  they  de- 
sired to  punish  him,  there  would  be  some  way  pro- 
vided to  evade  the  true  intent  of  the  amnesty,  and 
warp  its  meaniug  to  their  ends. 

We  have  said  ostensibly  for,  notwithstanding  his 
apparent  use  of  his  pretended  abode,  many  a  dark 
night  he  might  have  been  seen,  had  we  been  there 
to  see,  as  the  author  of  "John  Gilpin's  Ride,"  de- 
sired, when  any  move  riding  was  done,  cautiously 
making  his  way  to  or  from  the  little  home,  where 
Nancy  and  the  bairns  resided  yet.  He  had  been 
so  successful  in  these  perigrinations  that  he  had  not 
only  escaped  discovery,  but  had  got  the  crops  into 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  305 

the  ground  of  his  little  farm,  and  his  bjys  had  re- 
ceived munv  a  compliment  for  their  industry,  in 
seeing  so  well  to  their  homestead  while  their  father 
was  away.  The  canny  Nancy,  when  questioned 
too  closelv  upon  the  subject,  attributed  the  greater 
part  to  the  efforts  of  the  "Pawky  brownies  wha'd 
ta'en  ta  pleugli  an'  spade  when  ta  ill-fa'ard  land- 
louper. Alick  had  ta'en  mae  ta  trvsting  wie  ne'er 
do  weels,  t'an  his  ain  wife  an'  bairns." 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  in  which  transpired 
the  occurrences  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  Alick 
was  making  his  \vav  bv  the  uncertain  light  of  a 
new  moon  (for  the  full  m:>on  that  gave  us  radience 
by  which  some  of  the  events  at  the  beginning  of 
this  tale  were  performed,  having  done  its  duty,  had 
been  dismissed  like  an  old  servant  that  had  outlast- 
ed his  usefulness,  and  a  new  one  engaged,)  over 
the  dangerous  soil,  in  more  senses  than  one,  near 
the  precincts  of  Copper  Mountain.  He  knew  no- 
thing of  the  events  that  had  taken  place  in  that  lo- 
cality, during  the  last  two  weeks  and,  of  course, 
felt  no  fear  from  that  source;  but  Alick  was  chron- 
icallv  su>picious,  and  kept  his  eves  well  about  him, 
on  all  occasions,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  any 
emergency  that  might  arise. 

Some  writer,  (we  forget  who)  has  said  that  sus- 
picion is  an  inherent  quality  of  the  human  mind  : 
that  all  mankind  are  possessed,  in  a  more  or  less 
degree  with  it,  sometimes  dormant,  but  ever  there  ; 
lulled  sometimes  by  a  word,  and  as  easily  prompt- 
ed to  full  action.  He  claims  that  it  is  as  ncces^arv 


306  THE  COI'XTKKFEITKKS. 

a  property  as  any  other ;  that  there  is  so  much  de- 
ceit and  chicanery  in  the  world  that  nature  needs 
an  antidote  :  that  such  an  amount  of  hidden  malice 
requires  a  counterpoise.  Being  not  merely  an  ac- 
tion of  the  mind,  it  serves  the  place  of  instinct  in 
the  brute  creation,  as  that  same  something  for  which 
we  are  unable  to  account,  that  closes  the  eye  when 
any  extraneous  injury  threatens  it,  long  before  the 
mind  has  had  time  to  discover  the  menace,  and  de- 
vise a  prevention.  i'he  hand,  without  the  aid  of 
will,  clasps  involuntarily,  anything  suddenly  touch- 
ing the  palm  ;  suspicion  grasps  the  full  extent  of 
danger  and  provides  for  the  safety  of  the  man.  be- 
lore  the  brain  has  time  to  telegraph  to  the  will  the 
needed  directions. 

Some  men  are  more  suspicious  than  others,  their 
environment,  perhaps,  has  something  to  do  with 
it,  and  Alick  Cameron  was  one  who  possessed  a 
large  quantity.  To  this  last  may  be  attributed  the 
reason  why  he,  when  his  mind  was  intent  upon 
other  matters,  discovered  that  his  footsteps  were 
being  dogged.  Now,  the  honestest  man  in  all  the 
world  dislikes  to  be  watched,  for  it  argues  suspi- 
cion on  the  part  of  the  watcher  and  is  apt  to  beget 
suspicion  in  his  own  mind  of  the  watcher's  designs 
for  he  mistrusts  some  ulterior  objed  against  his 
peace,  purse  or  person.'  as  the  case  and  circumstaa- 
may  suggest.  Cameron  did  not  claim  to  be  the 
honestest  man,  by  many  degrees,  in  even  the  small 
world  of  Canada,  yet  he  was  as  much  adverse  to 
anyeapionage  on  his  own  p?rs>n.  as  though  he  w.i^ 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  307 

more  upright  than  he  claimed  ;  and  made  arrange- 
ments, at  once,  to  discover  the  intentions  of  his 
pursuer,  for  he  scorned  to  flv  from  one  adversary. 
An  opportunity  soon  presented  itself  of  putting 
his  purpose  in  execution,  for  passing  a  small  clump 
of  bushes,  bordering  his  path  that,  tor  an  instant, 
obscured  him  from  the  other's  view,  he  dropped 
upon  his  hands  and  knees  and  working  his  vvav 
nack  over  his  own  track,  to  its  utmost  border,  he 
calmly  awaited  the  result.  In  a  few  moments  the 
spy,  or  whatever  he  was,  gained  the  shelter  of  the 
same  hru&hwpod  and,  with  .all  the  caution,  of  one 
of  the  characters  of  the  orange  hued  literature,  af- 
oresaid, ensconced  himself  within  arm's  length  of 
Cameron  and  began  to  peer  out,  hoping  to  discov- 
er the  whereabouts  of  that  gentleman. 

The  discovery  came  sooner  and  in  a  less  agreea- 
ble manner  than  he  had  anticipated,  for  Cameron, 
recognizing  his  former  comrade-in-arms,  the  dark 
complexioned  young  man  who  was  suspected  of 
having  betrayed  the  organization  to  the  Philistines, 
in  the  persons  of  the  English  soldiery,  and,  as  the 
reader  will  probably  recollect,  having  a  consequent 
grudge  against  him,  reached  out  his  long,  bony 
aim  and  fingers  and  grasped  the  young  scoundrel's 
throat  with  a  grip  that  the  pinch  of  a  blacksmith's 
common  vice  was  nothing  in  comparison. 

"Ah  !  weel  met,  weel  met,  vounker,"  said  Al- 
ick  exultinglv.  "1  ha'e  been  wussing  to  put  mae 
twa  een  on  ve  these  twal  davs  or  rno'e.  Weel  met, 
weel  met,  vounker  !" 


THE  COrNTKKFEITEK! 

>-^-N^~ '-^- •^^-V-~*^-*--~~~~'- 

The  fellow  made  some  ineffectual  attempts  to 
reply,  but  the  vice-like  grasp  on  hia  throat  shut  oft* 
words  as  well  as  breath.  He,  however,  struggled 
manfullv  to  free  himself,  after  a  while  releasing  an 
arm,  he  drew  a  pistol  and  pointing  it  fully  at  the 
other's  head,  pulled  the  trigger.  The  wily  Scot 
saw  his  intentions  just  in  time  to  knock  the  wea- 
pon to  one  side  and  saved  his  life  by  the  act. 

"It  mak's  but  sma'  deeference  whether  ve  trv  to 
t;ik'  my  life  by  shot  or  rape,"  he  coolly  remarked  : 
^an'  as  ye  ha'e  tried  baith  ta  and  an'  ta  tither,  ye 
ha'e  aimed  yer  fate,  \vhilk  is  ta  be  gi'en  ta  maist 
awesome  flogging  ye  e'er  tholed.  But  ve  s'all  ha'e 
gripple  for  gripple.  an'  de'il  tak'  ta  heindmaist.  as 
he  wull  if  I  ha'e  my  way." 

And  the  Scotchman  proceeded,  without  waiting, 
to  administer  the  promised  and  deserved  castiga- 
tion,  in  a  stvle  that  would  not  have  done  dishonor 
to  a  Heenap  or  a  Savers,  in  their  best  days.  Hi* 
opponent  was  a  pluckv  fellow,  nevertheless,  and 
did  his  best  to  uirn  the  tide  of  battle  in  his  favor : 
but  he  lacked  the  endurance,  the  length  of  arm. 
and  the  untaught  science  of  the  hardy  Scot:  and. 
after  about  ten  minutes,  was  about  crving  "quits." 
when  he  perceived  three  or  four  dark  figures  mak- 
ing rapid  wav  towards  them.  These,  the  well- 
thumped  man  knew  to  be  reinforcements  to  him- 
self, called  bv  the  report  of  his  pistol,  and  nvi.L>  a 
most  vigorous  attack  upon  his  adversary,  hoping 
to  keep  him  in  play  until  their  arrival  :  but  Alick 
had  espied  the  approaching  figures  as  s  »n  as  he. 


THE  COUNTEUFEITERS.  309 

and  aware  that  he  must  make  the  most  of  his  time, 
gathered  all  his  unexpended  energies  into  some 
half-dozen  terrific  blows,  planted  them,  one  after 
the  other,  in  such  spots  as  seemed  the  most  sus- 
ceptible, winding  up  with  a  left-hander  under  the 
ear,  that  finished  the  fight  long  before  the  new-ar- 
rivals had  reached  the  scene. 

••Ta  rapscallions  ha'e  need  ta  mak-'  lang  tracks, 
an  t'ev  hu;>  ta  o'ertak'  Alick  Cameron,"  remarked 
that  worthy  as  he  stood,  for  an  instant,  looking  on 
his  prostrate  enemy,  a  trifle  dubiously,  not  fully 
decided  whether  or  iv>t  his  last  blow  had  not  been 
harder  struck  than  he  intended,  but,  as  he  began 
to  show  signs  of  life,  becoming  much  relieved  in 
mind  ;  "an'  as  t'ev  seem  ta  he  coming,  I'll  e'en  be 
ganging,  for  ta  rampaging  dolts  might  pay  me  in 
my  ain  coin,  with  mo'e  interest  t'an  is  my  right.'' 
Saying  which  he  turned  and  hurried  away  at  a 
gait  that,  tired  as  the  new-comers  were,  it  was  use- 
less to  undertake  to  equal. 

The  man  who  had  felt  so  often  and  so  sensibly 
the  weight  of  Cameron's  bony  fist,  presented  a  most 
woeful  appearance.  Bath  eves  were  discolored, 
his  nose  was  twice  its  natural  size,  and  his  mouth 
fearfully  awry  ;  which  latter,  no -doubt,  was  the 
cause  of  the  much  perverted  narrative  he  gave  of 
the  affair  (something  like  the  Cuban  bulletins  of 
to-day).  He  insisted  that  he  had  been  set  upon  by 
six  men  ;  that  he  had  wounded  one  and  four  of  them 
after  beating  him  senseless,  had  carried  the  hurt 
man  awav.  while  the  other  staid  to  finish  the-  foul 


THE  COl  NTEKFEH  EK.S. 

deed  by  his  outright  murder  ;  hut  that  their  sudden 
appearance  had  defeated  his  attempt. 

"Who  were  the  men?  Did  you  recognize  any 
of  them?"  asked  one  of  the  party. 

"The  one  that  just  left  is  that  burly  Scotchman, 
Cameron,"  replied  the  suffering  man-;  "and  one 
of  the  others  was  that  Lorimer  that  came  here,  af- 
ter the  girl,  three  days  ago." 

"And  did  you  recognize  either  of  the  others?" 
asked  the  one  that  had  before  spoken,  prefacing  his 
question  with  a  muttered  imprecation,  that  had 
more  venom  than  strength. 

"Neither,  unless  one  was  Dan  Morrison,  who 
had  a  black  cloth  over  his  face." 

"Well,  back,  bovs,  back  !  The  old  man  must 
know  of  this  at  once."  exclaimed  Sam  Pruvter,  for 
it  was  he.  "A  couple  of  you  assist  Tom,  and  the 
others  go  with  me." 

No  beleaguered  garrison  whose  outpost  had  been 
fiercely  attacked,  ever  presented  more  alarm  and 
perturbation  than  did  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass 
and  its  inhabitants,  when  the  story  was  there  told 
by  the  battered  man,  especially  when  another  par- 
agraph was  added  to  the  tale  he  had  to  tell,  devis- 
ed while  on  his  painful  way  to  his  haven  of  refuge, 
which  was,  that  the  parties  were  fully  armed,  and 
were  headed,  and  apparently  making  their  way  di- 
rectly toward  the  mouth  of  the  pass.  The  doors 
were  firmly  barred  and  bolted,  the  heavy  shutters 
closed  and  secured ;  a  hidden  door,  fixed  in  the 
wall  and  opening  into  a  room v  recess  hewn  out  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  31  I 

the  solid  rock  against  which  the  rear  of  the  build- 
ing stood,  was  opened  and  the  huge  machines  of 
their  trade,  mounted  on  powerful  trucks  or  castors, 
were  heaved,  bv  means  of  ropes  and  pulleys,  into 
the  cavern,  the  door  closed,  leaving  no  indication 
of  its  existence,  and  arms  and  ammunition,  which 
plentifully  abounded  in  the  house,  distributed  to  the 
men,  in  little  more  time  than  it  takes  to  record  it. 

These  matters  arranged,  with  that  expedition  and 
precision;  with  that  haste  without  hurrv,  that  tells 
the  men  well  drilled  in  the  practice;  and  a  couple 
of  the  gang  dispatched,  one  to  each  of  the  outlets 
of  the  pass,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  timely  notice 
of  the  arrival  of  any  hostile  partv,  the  beleaguered 
garrison  awaited  the  onset  that  was  not  destined  to 
come  so  soon. 

As  time  passed  and  it  became  still  more  evident 
that  the  superior  courage  and  address  of  their  sen- 
tinel had  so  frightened  the  assailants  that  no  attack 
would  be  made  that  night,  the  constrained  silence 
that  had  prevailed  until  now,  began  to  slowlv  pass 
awav  and  the  gang  showed  more  ease  than  before, 
by  an  occasional  remark,  with  once  in  a  while  a 
jeer  at  the  bravery  of  those  who  would  assail  a 
single  man,  but  dared  not  place  themselves  where 
hard  knocks  were  .sure  to  be  returned,  and  with 
ample  usury. 

William  Pruyter  and  his  promising  heir,  inheri- 
tor of  character  as  well  as  property,  were  seated 
in  the  father's  room.  They  had  sat  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  narrow  table,  each  with  his  chin  in  his 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

hand  and  his  elbow  resting  on  the  board,  gazing 
at  each  other  with  lowered  brows.  It  was  evident 
that  no  great  amount  of  paternal  or  h'lial  affection 
was  lost  by  either  and  that  there  \\as  something 
recent  that  had  widened  still  more  the  breach  that 
had  heretofore  existed ;  still  there  was  an  evident 
disposition  on  the  part  of  both  to  tolerate  the  opin- 
ions of  the  other,  in  furtherance  of  the  common 
cause  to  which  they  were  bound  and  to  adt  in  con- 
cert for  the  preservation  and  success  of  the  organi- 
zation of  which  thev  were  the  head. 

"What  think  you  now  of  the  old  dotard's  plan?" 
asked  the  father,  with  a  sneer.  "You  see  to  what 
pass  of  disturbance  and  disquiet  we  are  brought 
by  not  carrying  out  those  selfsame  plans,  though 
the  emenations  of  an  old  dotard's  brain." 

"You  know,  father,"  replied  the  younger,  de- 
preciatingly, "that  I  applied  that  epithet  to  you  in 
a  burst  of  violent  passion,  and  that  it  was  not  in- 
tended you  should  hear  it." 

"Would  a  blow  given  in  a  burst  of  violent  pas- 
sion he  less  painful  in  its  effects  than  another,  and 
should  that  blow  come  from  a  son's  hand,  would  it 
be  the  less  a  pain  than  had  it  come  from  the  hand 
of  a  stranger  or  at  his  back?" 

"Assuredly  not,  and  I  beg  your  pardon  for  the 
thoughtless  speech,"  said  Sam.  "I  can  do  no  more 
to  restore  peace  between  us.  But  what  is  to  be 
done  now?  This  infernal  Canuck  will  never  let 
up  until  he  is  satisfied  that  the  girl  is  no  longer  in 
the  house  or  under  our  control." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  313 

"Carry  out  the  same  plans  that  I  before  propos- 
ed, and  called  out  the  most  filial  expression,"  re- 
plied the  old  man,  not  yet  fully  appeased.  "Cir- 
culate bv  our  agents  and  our  own  tongues,  reports 
that  the  girl  has  been  sent  to  a  private  mad-house 
near  Baltimore,  and  then  quietly  put  her  out  of  the 
way.  The  lips  that  would  set  the  hounds  of  the 
law  howling  down  upon  us  sunk  fathoms  deep  in 
the  old  shaft  from  which  the  water  drove  us,  last 
summer,  well  ballasted  with  masses  of  ore,  would 
never  again  cause  the  uneasiness  and  constant  fear 
of  the  last  two  weeks." 

"But  how  account  for  her  not  returning?"  asked 
the  young  man  who  fairly  shivered  and  turned  pale 
when  he  noticed  the  coolness  with  which  a  deed  so 
terrible,  and  against  one  he  sincerely  loved,  was 
talked  of. 

••Idiot!"  hoarsely  exclaimed  the  senior.  "Let- 
ters received  in  the  course  of  six  months  or  a  year, 
duly  dated  and  postmarked  at  Baltimore,  announ- 
cing her  death,  either  by  accident,  suicide  or  oth- 
erwise, would  be  amply  sufficient  to  close  all  dis- 
paraging mouths,  were  they  opened  as  wide  as  is 
Echo  chasm.  A  physician's  certificate  might  be 
attached,  arid  also  a  bill  for  funeral  expenses  sent. 
I  have  arranged,  in  mv  life,  several  as  deep  plans 
as  this  to  success." 

"Can  the  men  be  trusted  with  such  a  secret? 
Though  true  in  all  other  respects,  where  a  murder 
is  concerned  the  temptation  might  be  too  great  for 
their  fidelity,"  said  Samuel,  who  was  gradualh 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^^^r^ *^-^-X^W~~-N ^ -" 

bringing  his  mind,  so  tractable  is  human  nature,  to 
discuss  the  matter  in  issue,  with  less  repugnance. 

"None  of  the  men  need  be  trusted,"  responded 
the  elder  villain.  "Our  own  four  hands  are  suffi- 
cient to  do  the  deed ;  to  pretend  the  removal,  and 
all  that  is  required." 

"I  can  never  bring  my  mind  to  strike  the  fatal 
blow,"  exclaimed  the  younger,  again  shivering, 
"though  I  know  she  will  never  be  mine,  and  that 
if  she  should  make  her  escape,  that  our  liberties 
would  not  be  worth  an  hour's  purchase,  and  that 
she  would  flv,  at  once,  to  his  arms.  I  cannot  im- 
brue my  hands  in  her  blood.  His  I  could  shed  with 
a  relish."  and  an  expression  that  the  old  man  might 
have  been  satisfied  with,  passed  over  his  dark  fea- 
tures; "and  if  our  plan  works  I  will  show  you  that 
I  am  a  true  son  of  a  remorseless  sire." 

••I  do  not  ask  it,"  said  the  old  man;  "but  bear 
your  part  manfully  in  the  events  yet  to  transpire, 
and  mv  own  hand  shall  do  the  deed.  You  will  find 
no  faltering  or  trembling  here,''  and  he  extended  a 
muscular  hand  and  arm.  that  seemed  might  grasp 
and  wield  a  dagger  without  flinching. 

"To-morrow  morning,"  continued  the  father, 
perceiving  that  the  son  did  not  make  any  response. 
"to-morrow  morning  you  will  go  up  to  Steadville. 
having  some  ostensible  business — hold,  you  will 
purchase  a  few  bundles  of  groceries;  buying  them 
at  different  stores — and  casually  remark  that  Helen 
Leonard  has  lately  manifested  worse  symptoms  of 
her  maladv.  and  that  she  has  been  removed  to  an 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

asylum    near    Baltimore.      You  had  better  inform 

Justice  D ,  Dr.  Martin  and  lawyer  Stevens  the 

same.  They  will  soon  circulate  the  report.  A  few 
days  of  commiseration  among  the  old  women  will 
follow,  and  then  the  affair  will  be  forgotten.  See 
Heath  and  tell  him  that  I  must  see  him  immediate- 
ly. The  packages  of  Southbridge  flimsies  are  all 
properly  made  up  and  he  must  be  here  to  transport 
them  to  Roberts,  tor  on  Monday  he  must  start  for 
Boston  with  them." 

••And  how  succeeds  the  amalgam  for  the  sover- 
eigns?" asked  Samuel,  very  glad  of  some  excuse 
to  change  the  subject. 

'•As  well  as  we  might  hope,"  responded  Prin- 
ter; "the  composition  revealed  to  Us  by  Howard, 
has  all  the  eflect  he  claimed  for  it.  Wilson  says 
the  coin  will  have  all  the  qualities  of  gold  ;  the, ring, 
general  appearance,  almost  the  weight  and  the  ab- 
sence of  the  slippery  feeling,  and  capacity  to  take 
a  good  impression.  Ah  !  with  these  in  the  hands 
of  the  utterers  we  may  retire  from  our  precarious 
occupation  and  somewhere  in  the  'States,'  we  may 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  our  labor,  under  our  own  vine 
and  fig  tree,  where  there  are  none  to  molest  or 
make  us  afraid."  The  devil,  himself,  it  is  said, 
sometimes  quotes  passages  from  Holy  Writ. 

The  buoyant  expression  of  hope,  manifested  by 
the  old  man,  seemed  to  have  a  depressing  effect  on 
the  son.  What  to  him  were  the  joys  of  quiet  and 
safety  :  the  luxuries  that  wealth  would  purchase  : 
the  ease  and  comfort  its  possession  would  give. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^^-s^-^^^-.^ ^X^-^-~*-N^~^-V^-V 

while  the  one  he  loved  was  in  the  arms  of  another, 
or  those  of  D^ath  ;  a  far  more  somber  hut  fully  as 
faithful  a  bridegroom.  To  give  Samuel  Pruyter 
all  the  credit  that  was  his  due,  if  he  had  a  single 
redeeming  qualitv.  it  was  his  love  for  Helen  Leon- 
ard. There  was  much  selfishness  in  it,  it  is  true ; 
but  what  love,  even  that  of  a  mother  for  her  child, 
has  not  some  of  that  ingredient  in  its  composition  ? 
For  years  he  had  watched  the  developement  of  her 
charms,  as  age  increased  her  beautv,  and  he  had 
learned  to  love  her,  perhaps  with  not  so  pure  an 
aftedion  as  many  would  have  clone,  yet  with  a  pas- 
sion that  was  all  absorbing  in  its  intensitv.  Re- 
pulse, scorn,  her  hatred  even,  had  failed  to  decrease 
its  steady  burning,  and  while  she  only  refused  a 
reciprocation,  her  heart  unoccupied  by  another,  he 
would  have  perilled  his  life  in  the  defence  of  hers ; 
but  when  he  was  assured  that  another  occupied  the 
place  he  had  chosen  ;  that  another  pessessed  her 
her  heart  and  she  must  never  be  his.  he  was  of  too 
selfish,  too  jealous  a  nature  to  endure  the  thought 
with  any  feeling  short  of  agonv. 

Love,  pure,  heart-felt  love  does  not  change  to 
hate,  however  much  people  may  so  claim ;  but  the 
human  heart  may  contain  both,  at  the  same  time, 
and  for  the  same  object.  A  board  painted  white 
may  be  covered  with  black,  so  thoroughly  that  no 
particle  of  the  original  color  may  be  detected,  but 
the  white  is  still  there  and  it  will  show  itself,  when 
some  attrition  removes  the  outer  covering.  So  it 
is  with  Idve  and  hate  :  the  latter  may  be  completely 


THE  COUNTKUFEITERS.  317 


hide  the  former  that  even  the  person  feeling  it  may 
not  realize  its  existence,  yet,  when  some  rough  jar 
comes,  the  love  shows  itself  through  the  darker, 
denser  passion,  and  the  one  experiencing  it  will 
find,  too  late,  that  love  is  not  annihilated  or  chang- 
ed, but  merely  covered,  for  the  nonce,  by  a  more 
violent  though  no  less  intense  emotion. 

In  much  the  same  state  as  described  above,  was 
the  heart  of  Samuel  Pruvter.  lie  would  fain  have 
the  maiden  for  his  wife,  but  this  impossible,  would 
rather  see  her  dead  than  another's.  He  would  not, 
as  he  ha.l  said,  plunge  with  his  own  hand,  thedag- 
ger  to  her  heart;  nor  did  he  wish  any  violent  fa- 
tality should  befall  her,  were  there  other  hope,  but 
none  presenting  itself,  rather  than  Herbert  Lorimer 
should  possess  her,  especially  when  his  safety  from 
a  felon's  cell  or  hangman's  cord  was  in  her  power, 
he  would  aid  in  her  destruction. 

••Will  not  the  increased  danger  of  counterfeiting 
the  queen's  currencv  more  than  counterbalance  the 
gain?'  inquired  Samuel,  with  an  effort  throwing 
off  the  thoughts  thronging  upon  him.  kilt  is  true 
it  gives  us  a  new  field  in  which  to  operate;  and 
and  that  some  who  have  winked  at  our  doings,  in 
regard  to  that  of  a  foreign  nation,  would  not  tole- 
rate an  infringement  on  their  own  circulating  me- 
dium for  a  single  instant." 

k'As  Justice  D somewhat  facetiously  said," 

replied  the  old  man  with  the  nearest  approach  to  a 
smile  he  ever  came  ;  •'  'The  printing  of  handbills, 
though  in  shape  of  bank  notes  of  another  countrv. 


E  COl'XTEKKEITEKS. 

or  stamping  of  brass  or  pewter  medals  with  the 
eagle  theron,  are  not  actionable,  so  long  as  they  are 
made  no  improper  use  of  in  Canada  ;  but  when  the 
Queen's  bank  note  is  forged,  or  her  blessed  image 
stamped  on  pure  gold,  it  is  premonition  of  death.'  " 

"Then  why  do  you  run  the  risk?" 

"A  good  general  would  rather  risk  his  army  in 
a  pitched  battle  than  in  a  dozen  skirmishes.  One 
such  strike  as  we  contemplate  will  accomplish  the 
end  we  desire  better  than  would  a  dozen  such  pal- 
try affairs  as  we  have  pursued,  heretofore.  I  would 
rather  run  the  risk  of  my  neck  for  a  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds,  than  of  imprisonment  of  ten  years 
each,  for  five  or  ten  thousand  at  a  time,  and  that  to 
be  divided  among  so  many." 

"But  I  do  not  understand  that  we  run  any  risks 
of  such  imprisonment  on  this  side  of  the  line." 

••I  would  not  be  line-bound,  for  who  knows  but 
something  may  occur  that  will  compel  us  to  seek 
safety  abroad.  By  a  bold  dash  I  am  in  hopes  of 
becoming  wealthy,  and  escape  before  the  game  is 
discovered.  I  have  bargained  the  Leonard  farm 
and  this  property  at  a  good  price :  and  some  fine 
morning,  not  long  hence,  my  many  admirers  and 
friends  will  find  me  absent ;  all  this  machinery  sunk 
in  the  lake,  and  no  trace  of  either  of  the  going  or 
former  occupation  of  William  Pruyter  be  left,  save 
the  broken  picks,  blunted  drills  ami  bent  crowbars 
of  our  not  very  prolific  mines." 

"And  why  not  do  this  immediately,"  asked  Sam 
eagerly  ;  "before  you  are  compelled  to  do  the  dark 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  319 

deed.  Take  her  with  us  until  so  far  she  will  be 
unable  to  make  information  against  us  of  avail,  or 
to  the  end  of  the  journey,  where  all  hopes  of  ever 
again  seeing  that  Lorimer,  gone,  she  may  reward 
inv  love  and  crown  my  wishes." 

"Never!"  replied  Pruyter.  "I  never  yet  put  my 
hand  to  the  plow  and  looked  back.  To  put  half- 
a-million  in  sovereigns  in  circulation  has  been  my 
life  long  study,  and  though  I  wade  instep  deep  in 
human  blood,  I  will  not  abate  one  iota  in  my  firm 
determination.  It  will  take  nearly  a  year  to  finish 
it,  but  for  the  vear  to  come,  as  in  years  back,  my 
whole  energies  shall  be  bent  to  that  object,  to  which 
all  my  other  projects  have  been  but  preparatory. 
The  time  would  have  been  longer,  had  it  not  been 
for  Howard's  secret,  and  how  am  I  recompensing 
him  for  it,"  he  said  almost  regretfully. 

There  was  considerable  exultation  in  his  voice ; 
and  it  was  really  a  plan  worthy  of  a  genius  such  as 
his.  It  was  feasible,  too;  for  as  yet  there  had  not 
been  a'dollar  in  money  of  pretended  English  mint- 
age offered  in  the  Provinces,  and  but  a  compara- 
tively small  quantity  of  Yankee  currency.  Those 
who  had  ever  been  safe,  protected  as  they  were  by 

stich  stringent  laws,  would  not  be  so  suspicious  as 
their  southern  neighbors,  who  were  offered  nearly 
every  day  some  spurious  representative  of  money  ; 
and  to  foist  upon  them  a  large  amount  of  so  dan- 
gerous a  counterfeit  would  be  comparatively  easy. 
"The  object  to  be  attained  is  a  great  one,"  said 

Sam.  who.  notwithstanding  his  conflict  of  feeling. 


320 


TIIK  COUNTKRFEI' 


could  but  admire  a  genius  that  could  master  a  plan 
of  the  magnitude  of  that  spoken  of. 

'•Yes,  yes,"  responded  Pruyter,  musingly,  hut 
recovering  himself  from  the  effects  of  the  present- 
iment that  had,  of  late,  several  times  come  over 
him.  "But  it  is  now  nearly  twelve  o'clock.  Go 
to  vour  bed  and  rest  for  the  task  of  to-morrow,  and 
of  to- morrow  night !"  he  added  significantly. 

Saying  which  he  closed  the  door  behind  his  son 
and  soon  after  was  sleeping  as  soundly  and  gently 
as  if  no  deeds  of  blood  or  villauv  were  meditated. 

During  the  greater  share  of  this  conversation, 
the  mysterious  woman  had  been  restlessly  hovering 
about  the  window  of  the  room,  striving  to  catch 
words  of  the  indistinct  murmuring  she  heard  com- 
ing from  the  occupants;  but  the  expectation  of  at- 
tack had  caused  the  impervious  shutter  to  be  dosed 
and  the  colloquy  had  been  carried  on  in  so  low  a 
tone  that  only  once  in  a  long  while  detached  words 
came  to  her  listening  ear,  not  sufficient  to  give  her 
the  least  inkling  of  the  subject  of  debate,  so  earn- 
estly carried  on  by  them. 

Had  she  been  as  successful  as  was  usually  her 
lot  in  eaves-dropping  and  spying,  the  dark  record 
of  William  Printer's  foulest  crime  had  never  been 
written.  How  sad  a  fate  had  been  spared  to  one 
in  whom  she  felt  so  deep  an  interest.  How  easily 
she  could  have  averted  the  destiny  their  midnight 
plotting  prepared  for  poor  Helen  Leonard,  and  how 
readily  have  warded  oft"  the  descending  blow. 

Verily  Life  hangs  by  a  brittle  thread  ! 


THE  COUNTKUFEITERS.  321 

CHAPTER    XX. 

STILL    MORE    DISCLOSURES. 

;HE  following  day  was  as  bright  and  cloud- 
less as  its  predecessor,  and  the  indefatiga- 
ble Samuel  Pruyter  was  succeeding  most 
encouragingly  with  the  spreading  of  his 
report.  Everything  went  according  to  his  wishes, 
until  about  four  o'clock,  in  the  afternoon,  when  he 
stood  in  the  door  of  Orton  Merrill's  store,  conver- 
sing with  the  proprietor,  he  saw  a  lad  riding  one, 
and  leading  four  other,  troop  horses,  each  accout- 
red in  full  panoply  of  housings  and  arms.  They 
soon  reached  the  hotel  steps,  when  several  troopers 
there  congregated,  gave  three  lusty  cheers.  Turn- 
ing to  Merrill,  who  was  one  of  those  shrewd  char- 
acters that  seems  to  know  everything,  he  inquired 
the  meaning  of  what  he  witnessed. 

••Why,  haven't  you  heard?"  asked  that  individ- 
ual, surprised.  "This  morning's  mail  brought  the 
news  that  Governor  Durham  had  pardoned  Capt. 
Lorimer,  on  condition  that  he  would  return  all  the 
troop  horses  and  accoutrements  that  he  captured, 
some  fortnight  ago;  deliver  his  sword,  in  person, 
to  Captain  Stanfield,  and  mulcted  in  a  fine  of  one 
thousand  pounds;  a  mere  flea  bite  to  Lorimer,  ex- 
cept the  delivering  of  the  sword.  The  intelligence 
was  immediately  sent  to  him,  and  he  came,  in  less 
than  an  hour-and-a-half,  a  draft  on  a  banker  in  the 
city  for  the  amount  mentioned  given  ;  here  are  the 
horses  and  this  evening  at  eight  o'clock,  has  been 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

>-*^^-^%^V^^^>^-.^'>^^^**^*^^^. 

fixed  upon  for  the  ceremony  of  delivering  up  his 
sword.  I  am  glad  the  matter  is  so  easily  settled, 
for  Lorimer  is  a  devilish  good  fellow,  and  was  an 
old  friend  of  mine,  in  Montreal." 

Sam  stopped  to  hear  no  more.  -  This  news  was 
a  bitter  potion,  and  with  a  muttered  imprecation, 
he  mounted  his  horse  and  set  out  on  his  return  to 
Copper  Mountain,  no  more  qualms  of  conscience 
troubling  him  in  regard  to  the  deed  of  darkness  he 
had  determined  to  commit. 

On  that  same  evening  Helen  Leonard  sat  in  her 
prison  cell,  vainly  looking  and  hoping  for  the  arri- 
val of  one  who  seemed  now  her  only  friend.  She 
was  more  than  usually  melancholy  on  that  evening 
and  traces  of  tears  might  have  been  seen  upon  her 
eyelids  and  cheeks.  Although  utterly  ignorant  of 
all  that  had  transpired  relative  to  her,  was  it  not 
possible  that  some  guardian  angel  was  hovering 
near,  hoping  to  avert  the  fate  now  coming,  coming 
and  close  at  hand  ?  \  ,'as  there  not  some  foreboding 
of  an  evil,  she  knew  not  what,  casting  its  ominous 
shadow  over  her  spirit? 

Nine  o'clock  struck  and  amid  its  echoes  she  no- 
I'ced  the  light  sound  below  her  window,  the  usual 
precursor  of  the  arrival  of  the  longexpecled  guest. 
Xor  was  she  disappointed,  for  in  a  few  minutes, 
the  strange  woman  stepped  into  the  room.  Having 
adjusted  the  grating,  she  seated  herself  near  Helen, 
without  a  word. 

"Oh  !  I  am  glad  you  have  come,"  said  the  girl, 
fervently.  "It  is  so  lonely  here,  that  it  seems  as 


THE  COUNTEKKEITEKS.  323 


if  I  should  go  crazy  indeed,  unless  my  eyes  could 
rest  on  some  human  face,  that  was  friendly  in  its 
expression." 

•'Have  you  really,  then,  waited  with  hope  for 
the  coming  of  one  of  whom  you  know  so  little?  I 
had  thought  that  the  time  when  I  should  be  hoped 
for,  had  long  passed." 

"Yes,  ves,  mysterious  woman,"  earnestly  res- 
ponded Helen.  kil  have  waited  and  hoped,  until 
waiting  has  become  burdensome,  and  hope  was 
merging  in  despair;  for  in  you  is  my  only  expect- 
ation of  ever  escaping." 

"Mysterious  woman  no  longer,  Helen  Leonard," 
answered  the  stranger;  '-for  to-night  I  shall  reveal 
to  you  my  history.  I  feel  that  I  shall  never  have  a 
better,  if  ever  another  opportunity  to  do  so;  for 
events  are  fast  culminating." 

ikl  hope  you  will  do  so,  madam,"  exclaimed  the 
girl.  "I  have  wanted  so  much  to  hear  it.  for  I 
have  all  along  felt  that  your  destiny  and  mine  were 
in  some  mysterious  way  intermingled." 

"I  am,"  said  the  woman,  fixing  her  restless  eyes 
upon  those  of  the  maiden,  as  if  she  would  read  in 
them  the  effect  of  her  words  on  the  gentle  auditor. 
"•I  am  the  wife  of  William  Printer  and  the  mother 
of  his  son,  Samuel.  Interrupt  me  not,"  she  said 
as  the  girl  made  an  exclamation  of  surprise,  and 
was  about  to  speak  ;  ''interrupt  me  not,  for  I  wish 
to  keep  my  mind  steadily  upon  my  purpose,  and 
any  intervention  would  but  confuse  it.  Yes,  I  am 
the  woman  reported  to  have  been  drowned  in  the 


THE  COI'NTEKFEITEUS. 

lake,  and  whose  body,  they  say,  lies  in  Steadville 
cemeterv  with  a  large,  white  tombstone  reiterating 
the  lie  that  my  recreant  husband,  long  years  ago, 
fabricated  and  promulgated,  over  my  grave. 

••It  is  unnecessary  that  I  should  speak  of  my 
birth  and  parentage,  and  it  is  enough  to  say  that  I 
am  a  Swede,  and  that  mv  progenitors  were  respec- 
table and  well-to-do  in  the  world.  In  England, 
where  I  had  gone  to  finish  my  English  education, 
I  met  William  Pruvter.  That  is  not  his  real  name, 
but  will  serve  as  well  as  another  for  the  purpose  of 

my  storv.  He  was  a  second  son  of  Lord .  a 

Welsh  nobleman  of  wealth  and  influence.  1  met 
him,  I  say,  and  like  any  other  school  girl,  fell  in 
love  with  the  first  goud  looking  man  who  had  paid 
me  the  least  attention.  Mv  studies  were  neglected 
and  I  was  in  a  pitiful  state.  He  soon  saw  mv  con- 
dition, and  on  the  strength  of  mv  love,  attempted 
my  ruin. 

"I  was  young  and  inexperienced  in  the  wavs  of 
the  world,  but  had  innate  modesty  and  firmness 
enough  to  resist  all  'is  advances.  Every  scheme  of 
a  brain  prolific  in  expedients  was  practiced  on  me 
in  vain,  until,  in  an  evil  hour,  I  consented  to  marry 
him,  in  answer  to  the  proposal  he  had  made,  to 
>>-ain  by  fair  means  what  he  had  failed  to  do  by  foul. 
We  were  married  privately  but  legally,  and  I  have 
ever  preserved,  nearest  my  heart  the  certificate  and 
an  attested  copy  of  the  register  on  which  the  rec- 
ord was  made. 

••Soon  after  the  wedding.  I  made   the  discovery 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


that  though  well  educated  and  accomplished  in  all 
that  pertains  to  a  gentleman,  he  was  reckless  and 
dissipated;  having  for  his  most  intimate  associates 
those  to  whom  his  remains  of  decency  would  not 
allow  him  to  introduce  his  voung  wife.  His  par- 
ents, who  were  aware  of  his  dissolute  and  disrep- 
utable courses  had,  some  time  before,  forbidden  all 
social  intercourse  with  them,  and  he  lived  upon  an 
allowance,  ample  in  all  respects,  to  sustain  him  in 
respectability,  paid  by  his  father.  In  vain  I  endea- 
vored to  win  him  by  mv  caresses  from  his  pursuits 
but,  after  a  few  months,  he  was  as  reckless  as  ever. 
The  news  of  his  marriage,  though  well  guarded, 
soon  reached  his  father's  ears,  and  he  utterly  dis- 
owned him,  stopping  his  allowance  and  throwing 
him  upon  his  own  resources. 

"This  action  but  plunged  my  young  husband 
deeper  and  deeper  in  vice.  He  soon  began  to  neg- 
lect me,  accusing  me  of  being  the  cause  of  his 
downfall.  Tears,  entreaties,  caresses  were  all  alike 
of  no  avail.  Mv  brother  had  found  me  out  in  my 
misery,  and  occasionally  visited  me,  and  from  his 
purse  provided  for  my  wants  that  were  fast  coming 
upon  me.  One  evening  my  brother  had  spent  an 
hour  with  me,  and  was  just  leaving  when  my  hus- 
band, contrary  to  his  custom,  returned  so  early  as 
to  meet  him.  They  were  strangers,  and  Pruvter's 
jealousy  was.  at  once,  aroused.  He  flew  to  mv 
room,  accused  me  of  infidelity,  and  finally,  mad- 
man as  he  was,  struck  me  a  heavy  blow,  prostrat- 
ing me  in  a  fainting  fit  of  hours  in  duration. 


THE  COrNTERFEITEKS. 

••When  I  recovered  I  told  all  the  circumstances 
of  my  brother's  finding  and  aiding  me.  Prompt  to 
take  offence,  instead  of  being  molified  and  express- 
ing regret  for  his  acts,  he  poured  forth  a  torrent  of 
invective,  forbid  mv  ever  seeing  him  again,  cursing 
me  in  my  weakness.  From  that  time  forward,  my 
life  was  one  of  misery  and  want  and  abuse.  He 
hesitated  not  to  strike  me  on  several  occasions,  but 
I  bore  his  reproache«  in  silence  and  received  his 
blows  as  given  by  the  hand  of  a  husband.  His  ca- 
reer was  rapidly  downward  ;  starvation  and  cold 
crept  nearer  and  more  near,  and  what  remained  of 
my  once  abundant  supply  of  clothing  was  sold, 
pawned  or  worn  to  the  verge  of  indecency  ;  Pruy- 
ter  grew  more  attached  to  his  associates,  and  fre- 
quently came  home  intoxicated. 

"About  two  years  after  our  marriage,  Samuel 
was  born.  This  was  no  bar  to  his  excesses,  no 
band  to  draw  him  nearer  to  his  wife.  One  night 
he  came  in,  flushed  with  liquor,  but  with  conster- 
nation in  his  face.  He  said  that  he  had  been  de- 
tecfted  in  forging  his  father's  signature,  and  that  his 
only  safety  was  in  flight,  and  in  three  hours  from 
that  time  we  were  on  board  a  vessel,  its  prow  poin- 
ted westward,  and  no  trace  left  by  which  we  could 
be  followed.  We  landed  at  Quebec,  after  a  voyage 
in  which  the  natural  hardship  of  ocean  navigation 
wa»  much  increased  by  the  care  required  by  my  in- 
fant boy,  and  the  repeated  abuse  he  heaped  on  me. 

"The  new  \\orld  proved  an  El  Dorado  to  Wil- 
liam Printer.  He  very  soon  obtained  employment 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  327 

in  the  mines  of  the  Upper  Provinces,  a  situation 
for  which  his  education  admirably  adapted  him, 
for  his  paternal  estate  contained  several  very  valu- 
able ones,  and  he  had  been  taught  with  an  especial 
reference  to  their  better  development.  From  an 
employe  he  soon  rose  to  the  position  of  overseer 
and  director,  and  his  wealth  increased  rapidly. 
\Yith  financial  success  came  better  treatment,  and 
for  a  few  years  he  forbore  his  bitter  taunts  and  blows 
and  1  fondly  hoped  that  as  years  passed,  he  would 
forget  the  old  trouble  and  we  should  be  happv  and 
respectable  in  the  world. 

4kMy  expectations  were  soon  to  be  blasted,  how- 
ever, for  a  scheme  of  great  magnitude  had  been  all 
this  time  seething  in  his  brain,  and  his  dilligence 
and  plans  were  all  to  its  furtherance.  This  was  no 
less  than  to  acquire  a  large  fortune  by  a  single  eff- 
ort, return  to  his  native  land  and,  in  the  security 
afforded  him  by  his  wealth,  wait  patiently  the  death 
of  his  elder  brother,  the  heir  of  the  estate,  and  be- 
come, as  he  expected,  Lord ,  and  the  richest 

man  in  Wales.  This  brother  is  of  poor  health  and 
unmarried,  and  a  portion  of  the  plan  appeared  to 
be  feasible.  However  his  father  hated  him,  he  had 
not  the  power  of  diverting  the  title,  for  the  large 
original  estate,  with  its  valuable  mines,  is  entailed 
and  only  the  accumulated  personal  property  devis- 
able out  of  the  direct  line. 

''I  have  given  you  merely  a  synopsis  of  the  story 
of  our  lives  and  fortunes  up  to  this  point,  as  a  mi- 
nute relation  of  it  could  have  no  interest  to  you, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

save  as  a  tale  with  which  you  are  not  concerned, 
and  presenting  the  same  matters  of  interest  that  any 
other  would,  the  parties  to  which  were  but  friends 
or  acquaintance.  For  several  weeks  Pruyter  was 
preoccupied  and  spe-U  most  of  his  nights  in  a  kind 
of  laboritory  that  he  had  finished  oft',  in  a  part  of 
the  house  in  which  we  resided.  One  morning  af- 
ter a  night  thus  spent,  he  came  to  his  breakfast  with 
a  highly  satisfied  countenance,  and  exclaimed  sev- 
eral times,  during  the  meal  :  'Eureka!'"  Guided 
by  previous  experience,  1  ventured  no  inquiries  as 
to  the  cause  of  his  exultation,  waiting  such  time  as 
he  saw  fit  to  fix  for  disclosing  it. 

••By  coming  to  this  place,  which  occurred  about 
three  weeks  after  that  event,  we  severed  all  the  ties 
that  had  bound  us  to  our  older  residence,  never  re- 
turning, nor  even  hearing,  directly  or  indirectly, 
of  it.  Your  father,  Helen,  joined  Pruvter  in  his 
mining  operations  at  first,  and  would,  eventually, 
had  he  lived,  I  think,  been  induced  to  connect  him- 
self with  the  other  branch  of  business,  in  which 
he  soon  after  engaged,  that  of  counterfeiting.  You 
can  congratulate  yourself,  Helen  Leonard,  in  the 
assurance  that  your  kind  father  was  never,  in  word, 
thought  or  deed,  concerned  in  that  crime.  I  say 
kind  because  once,  he  parried  from  my  head  a  blow 
struck  at  it  by  Pruyter,  that,  had  it  not  been  turned 
aside,  must  have  caused  my  death.  Mr.  Pruyter 
was  infuriated,  but  your  father  was  firm,  threaten- 
ing to  make  his  treatment  to  me  public,  if  he  ever 
knew  of  bis  striking  me  a  blow,  or  laving  his  hand 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  329 

on  me  in  anger.  The  stake  that  my  husband  was 
playing  for  was  too  great  to  lose,  and  he  promised 
never  to  raise  his  hand  to  me;  and  kept  his  word, 
while  vour  father  lived. 

"Unfortunately  for  us  both,  Arthur  Leonard  was 
accidentally  killed  ;  and  to  secure  the  property  that 
lie  needed  in  his  transactions,  I  think — but  do  not 
know — that  he  forged  deeds,  receipts  and  other  pa- 
pers, when  he  was  really  indebted  to  your  father's 
estate  to  quite  .an  amount.  I  once  accused  him  of 
the  deed,  and  remonstrated  against  his  cheating  the 
widow  and  orphan  of  their  rights.  I  was  angry, 
and  threatened  to  expose  him.  He  said  I  was  in- 
sane ;  taunted  me  of  my  father's  insanity  and  said 
that  I  was  just  as  bad.  And  soon  after  was  enac- 
ted the  same  farce  that  he  has  revived  in  your  case, 
and  I  was  adjudged  a  maniac,  and  for  over  a  year, 
was  confined  in  this  very  room.  I  have  sometimes 
thought  that  during  a  part  of  that  period  I  was  out 
of  my  head.  Periods  have  been  since,  when  I  have 
had  strange  vagaries.  Perhaps  I  am  mad,  now." 
and  as  she  thus  spoke,  the  same  far-away  look  set- 
tled in  her  eyes  but,  with  a  strong  effort,  she  recov- 
ered herself,  and  continued  : — 

4*This  grating  was  put  in  while  I  was  a  tenant 
of  this  room,  for  I  had  escaped  several  times,  and 
believe  me  I  watched  the  workman  with  searching 
eyes.  One  end  of  each  of  the  cross-bars  is  made 
in  the  form  of  a  hook,  the  other  entering  the  stone 
only  about  an  inch.  When  he  had  finished  his  job 
and  left,  and  before  the  mortar  or  cement  in  which 


HIE  COUXTERKK1TERS. 

^^^*^*^-^*~*-~+*^**^^**^^^^~^~**' 

the  bars  were  set,  was  hilly  dry,  I  began  to  work 
on  them,  and  after  a  week  of  patient  labor,  I  was 
enabled  to  draw  out  the  bars  from  the  side  into 
which  they  were  the  least  inserted,  and  the  whole 
grating  swung  on  the  hooks  as  readily  as  would  an 
ordinary  door.  No  one  ever  discovered  my  secret 
and,  many  a  night,  when  the  fit  was  on,  1  have 
danced  on  the  cliffs  or  watched  him  in  his  iniquity, 
returning  before  I  was  detected. 

"Some  few  months  after  this  I  was  removed  to 
an  asylum  in  Montreal,  whence  1  escaped,  about  a 
month  ago.  No  report  was  sent  to  Pruvter  of  mv 
being  gone,  and  therefore  he  does  not  suspect  me. 
I  came  directly  to  this  place  ;  entered  his  room, 
during  his  absence  and  securing  a  sum  of  money — 
good  money — I  prevailed  upon  your  uncle,  Carlos, 
to  board  me,  and  there  have  been  ever  since,  visit- 
ing the  pass  almost  nightly  and  by  watching,  have 
kept  fully  informed  of  all  the  movements,  objects 
and  intentions  of  all  who  reside  or  visit  here.  On 
hearing,  on  my  return,  of  the  pretended  death  of 
his  wife,  and  that  William  Pruvter  had,  long  ago, 
married  your  mother,  I  paid  her  a  visit.  At  first 
she  thought  that  I  was  a  spirit,  and  in  my  anger, 
I  would  not  undeceive  her,  but  told  her  all  the  in- 
iquity of  her  husband,  cursed  and  left  her." 

"Yes,  yes,"  exclaimed  Helen  ;  "she  told  me  of 
the  visit  of  his  first  wife's  ghost;  of  his  iniquitous 
business  ;  of  her  suspicions  that  my  father  had  been 
wronged  by  the  machinations  of  William  and  Sam- 
uel Pruvter,  of  a  large  portion  of  his  estate,  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

that  she  believed  your  appearance  was  a  judgement 
upon  her  for  marrying  Mr.  Pruyter.  Alas  !  poor 
mother,  it  was  finally  the  cause  of  her  death." 

"So  I  was  led  to  believe,  Helen,"  continued 
Mrs.  Pruyter :  ''and  I  have  blamed  myself,  manv 
times  for  my  agency  in  it.  When  she  died  I  re- 
pented of  my  anger,  and  in  consideration  of  the 
kindness  of  your  father  and  the  fadl  that  I  had,  in 
part,  deprived  you  of  a  mother,  I  registered  a  sol- 
emn vow  to  be  both  to  you.  I  soon  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  fulfilling  the  oath  for,  on  the  night  when 
you  discovered  their  jealously  guarded  secret,  I  was 
close  at  hand,  heard  all,  and  when,  after  a  season, 
you  was  brought  here,  released  you.  I  soon  saw 
that  they  were  fully  determined  to  retain  possess- 
ion of  your  person,  and  therefore,  have  let  you  re- 
main until  such  a  time  as  I  can  make  your  escape 
certain  and  effectual.  But  not  yet,  not  yet." 

"Oh,  why  not  to-night?"  pleaded  Helen.  "I 
can  go  with  you  to  my  uncle,  and  he  will  protect 
me  against  all  who  may  come  to  do  me  an  injury. 
I  would " 

"Hush  !  Hush  !"  cautioned  the  woman,  as  a 
sound  from  outside  the  door  was  borne  to  her  ears. 
She  listened  for  a  moment,  then,  with  a  motion  as 
quick  as  thought,  dashed  out  the  light,  and  hasten- 
ed to  the  window.  Helen  followed  her,  a  hurried 
whisper  took  place,  and  then  she  passed  out,  the 
grating  was  closed,  and  once  more  the  lonely  ten- 
ant of  the  prison  cell  was  alone.  She  listened  for 
a  few  moments,  applying  her  ear  to  the  panel,  but 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  sound,  \\  hatever  it  was.  or  whatever  produced 
it,  was  not  repeated,  and  she  quietly  went  to  bed. 
and  soon  after,  a  gentle,  regular  breathing  told  that 
all  sorrows  and  anxieties  were,  for  the  present, 
banished,  and  that  "tired  nature's  sweet  restorer." 
was  in  full  possession  of  all  her  faculties,  and  that 
no  premonition  of  the  fearful  awakening  shadowed 
her  quiet,  peaceful  slumber. 

Why  is  it  if,  as  many  believe,  as  we  believe,  that 
guardian  angels,  the  spirits  of  our  departed  friends, 
are  allowed  to  hover  around  our  bed  during  sleep, 
to  protect  and  watch  us,  that  they  are  not  permit- 
ted to  make  their  warnings  sufficiently  manifest, 
that  we  may  know  the  danger  that  their  etherial 
powers  cannot  ward  off  ?  There  may  be  an  unea- 
sv  dread  of  some  coming  evil,  but  knowing  not  the 
source  or  direction  of  its  advent,  we  are  helpless 
as  babes  to  avert  it.  Perhaps  it  is  best  that  such 
should  be  the  case,  for  in  knowing  the  time  and  the 
coming  of  the  one,  we  should  suffer  many  deaths. 
We  should  count  the  days,  hours,  minutes,  seconds 
intervening  between  life  and  death  ;  between  this 
and  the  world  To  Be ;  and  take  no  heed  of  living, 
while  we  do  live,  and  die  in  every  remembrance 
of  the  near  coming  dissolution.  Instead  of  being 
a  world  of  joy,  with  ils  lesser  amount  of  sorrows, 
it  would  be  but  a  charnel  house,  each  individual  a 
sorrowful  mourner,  with  a  skull  on  his  shoulders, 
walking  down  to  a  grave,  on  a  fixed  and  certain 
day.  unavoidable,  inevitable. 

For  two  hours  the  sleeper  continued  to  slumber. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  333 

and  nothing  came  to  awake  her.  At  that  time  the 
bolt  moved  noiselessly  back,  a  slot  in  the  panel  be- 
hind it,  and  a  strong  steel  instrument,  being  the 
means,  the  door  swung  silently  on  its  hinges,  and 
two  shadowy,  stealthy,  quick-moving  forms  glided 
in  and  ranged  themselves  at  the  slumberer's  side. 
A  dagger,  just  visible  in  the  semi-obscurity  of  the 
room,  rose  and  fell,  each  thrust  reaching  a  vital 
part,  each  stab  opening  a  sure  egress  for  the  soul. 
It  was  a  fearful  visitation,  and  its  only  response  was 
a  hollow  groan,  a  wavering  gasp,  and  again  that 
room  was  as  silent  as  before. 

The  murderers  then  wrapped  the  bed,  with  all 
its  clothes  of  sheets,  pillows  and  coverings,  around 
the  lifeless  form,  that  no  telltale  blood  drops  might 
escape ;  passed  a  cord,  previously  prepared,  many 
times  around  the  package  thus  made  up  for  eterni- 
ty ;  raised  it  in  their  arms  and  bore  it  through  the 
door,  down  the  stairs  and  out  into  the  night.  Then 
up  a  dark,  hollow  gorge  they  bore  the  ghastly  bur- 
den, until  they  stood  upon  the  edge  of  a  no  longer 
used  shaft,  fully  forty  feet  in  depth  and  more  than 
two-thirds  filled  with  water,  dark  as  the  deed  they 
had  committed,  reflecting  neither  moon  or  star 
from  its  baleful  surface,  and  hiding  itself  behind 
craggy  projections,  as  if  ashamed  to  show  itself  to 
the  light. 

There  they  put  the  body  down  ;  felt  out  several 
large  pieces  of  ore  and  attaching  them  strongly  to 
the  cord  already  fastened  to  the  enveloped  form  and 
then  rolled  it  into  the  dark  abyss.  A  sullen,  often 


THE  COUNTERFE1TEKS. 

echoed  splash  was  the  only  sound  coming  up  from 
the  grave,  a  few  bubbles  rising,  messengers  from 
the  dead  to  the  living,  messages  they  were  at  no 
loss  to  read,  were  all  that  was  heard  or  seen.  The 
shorter  of  the  two  assassins  then  removed  a  frock, 
that  had  enveloped  his  entire  form,  wrapped  it  a- 
round  the  no  longer  gleaming  dagger  and  another 
piece  of  ore,  cast  it  into  the  pit,  and  then  they  fled 
down  the  gorge,  their  moccassined  feet  making  no 
sound  ;  but  the  bubbles  yet  rising  before  their  eyes 
as  while  life  lasted  they  would  rise,  recurrent  mes- 
sages of  condemnation  from  the  dead  to  the  living, 
messages  that  needed  no  interpreter  to  read. 

When  thev  had  reached  the  old  man's  room  and 
a  light  had  been  obtained,  they  were  thunderstruck 
at  the  faces  into  which  each  other  gazed.  They 
were  like  dead  men's  faces,  only  that  the  muscles 
worked  convulsively  and  the  eyes  cowered  before 
the  eyes  that  met  them.  They  trembled  in  horror, 
but  with  a  caution  that  was  not  to  be  surprised, 
they  made  minute  examination  of  their  clothing, 
hands,  faces,  to  see  if  any  drop  of  detective  blood 
was  there.  Finding  none,  they  carefully  searched 
the  door-stone,  the  floor,  the  stairs,  the  upper  floor, 
and  that  of  the  bed-chamber,  and  the  bed  itself; 
but  that  blood,  however  anxious  to  reach  the  ground 
that  it  might  cry  out  for  vengeance  against  its  shed- 
cLrs,  could  not  make  its  way,  in  so  short  a  time, 
through  so  many  folds  of  cloth,  of  feathers,  and  of 
cloth  again,  and  not  a  drop  was  to  be  found  ;  all 
had  been  absorbed  by  the  covering. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  335 


A  few  minor  arrangements  were  soon  made  in 
the  room,  the  door  closed,  the  bolt  shot  to  its  place, 
the  slot  deftly  filled  with  putty,  already  colored  to 
the  same  hue  as  that  of  the  wood,  and  they  went, 
each  reluctantly  to  his  own  apartment,  in  search  of 
the  sleep  that  was  not  to  come,  at  least  for  several 
hours,  for,  as  they  closed  their  eyes,  the  bubbles 
again  began  to  rise,  expand  and  burst,  each  one  as 
it  appeared,  opening  an  aperture  in  the  dark,  hid- 
ing waters,  through  which  they  could  see,  though 
thicklv  envelopeed,  the  tair,  young  face,  all  pale 
and  deathlike,  but  with  eyes  watching  the  ascent 
of  the  messages  from  the  dead  to  the  living,  the 
messages  of  vengeance  so  easilv  read. 

But  somnolent  at  last,  as  much  from  excitement 
and  dread  as  from  want  of  sleep,  they  sunk  away 
to  slumber,  but  many  times,  ere  morning  dawned, 
to  enact  again  the  same  tragedy,  in  every  and  all 
its  most  minute  particular,  to  the  last,  from  its  be- 
ginning; from  the  stealthy  listening  at  her  cham- 
ber door,  for  an  hour,  even  to  the  final  search  for 
blood-marks;  from  the  first  fall  of  the  life-seeking 
blade,  to  the  last  splash  in  the  murkv  waters  of 
the  mine ;  from  the  hollow  groan  and  wavering 
gasp,  to  the  hnrried,  terror-prompted  flight,  down 
the  glen ;  and  through  the  whole,  the  rising  bub- 
bles brought  messages  from  the  dead  to  the  living, 
messages  of  retribution,  not  one  word  of  which 
their  straining,  aching  eyes  failed  to  read. 


336  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^x-^-VS^-t^ ~*s~~~+^~**~~>-*~J~>~>-*~' 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

ANOTHER    UNAVAILING    SEARCH. 

N  the  next  morning,  the  morning  of  June 
3rd,  1838,  the  sun  arose  with  no  interve- 
ning vapor,  but  with  a  very  reel  face,  as 
if  the  night  before  had  been  spent  by.  him 
in  dissipation,  and  that  he  had  something  of  an  in- 
clination to  be  cross  because  compelled  to  rise  so 
early.  The  night  had  been  sweltering  hot,  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  sky  were  several  white,  pillar- 
like  clouds,  with  ragged  f  edges,  resembling  large 
bundles  of  fleeces  of  wool  loosely  bound  together, 
while  in  the  west  a  dark  mass  of  dense  vapor,  on 
which  was  drawn  a  not  very  brilliant  rainbow,  like 
a  black  pall,  interwoven  with  gaudy  colors,  was 
creeping  with  ominous  speed  up  the  blue  field  of 
the  sky. 

Not  a  breath  of  air  was  stirring;  the  zephvrs, 
being  their  own  meters,  were  yet  sleeping,  and 
the  very  earth  was  panting  with  heat.  As  the  day 
advanced,  several  flashes  and  distant  peals  of  grum- 
bling thunder  began  to  be  seen  and  heard,  like  the 
picket  firing  before  the  real  action  commences, 
growing  louder  and  clearer  as  they  advanced,  until 
the  black  cloud,  in  the  west,  had  spread  over  the 
entire  sky,  and  then  the  real  action  began.  The 
muttering  thunder  grew  menacing  in  tone  and  re- 
sembled in  its  prolonged  reach  from  west  to  east, 
and  its  reverberating  finale,  some  game  at  tenpins, 
played  by  Titans,  across  the  firmament,  where 


THE  COUNTEnKKlTEKh.  337 

worlds  are  bowled,  and  ten-strikes  plenty.  The 
lightning,  in  its  zig-zag  leaps  between  the  clouds, 
might  lead  one  with  vivid  imagination  to  picture  a 
huge  sewing  machine  with  red-hot  needle,  a  me- 
teor shuttle  and  Haming  thread,  stitching  together 
the  ragged  edges  of  the  black  vapors,  into  a  mon- 
ster pall  with  which  to  envelope  the  world.  The 
winds  that  had  slept  so  long  seemed  now  intent  on 
making  up  for  lost  time  and  whipped  the.  till  now. 
la/v  air  with  the  tops  and  branches  of  the  trees, 
castigating  one  of  their  assistants  for  the  very  re- 
missness  of  which  thev  were  themselves  guiltv. 
a  course  often  pursued  bv  masters  wearing  the  hu- 
man form.  And  then  down  came  the  rain,  not  in 
drops,  but  in  streams,  making  the  parched  earth 
laiilv  smoke  with  the  concussion,  when  it  struck. 
The  waters  of  the  lake,  ridged  into  waves,  bv  the 
wind,  were  again  beaten  back  to  a  troubled,  toss- 
ing level  bv  the  waters  from  above  the  earth  join- 
ing with  the  waters  of  the  earth. 

In  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  terrific  bursts  of 
the  tempest,  at  a  time  when  the  narrow  road  from 
the  house  to  the  meadow  below  ran  full,  but  not 
deep,  with  the  accumulated  waters  of  the  pass, 
when  the  lightning  seemed  to  be  leaping  back  and 
forth  across  the  narrow  gorge  and  the  thunder  ap- 
peared to  be  actually  rocking  the  solid  crags,  as 
easily  as  a  mother  would  rock  her  child's  cradle, 
a  rather  verdant  appearing  vouth.  mounted  upon 
a  shambling  descendant  of  Rosinante.  very  wet. 
verv  scared,  and  verv  anxious,  rode  up  to  the  stone- 


THE  COUNTEKFEITEKS. 

house,  and  delivered  a  letter  to  William  Pruyter, 
who  stood  in  the  door  as  if  awaiting  the  coming  of 
the  young  messenger. 

Although  the  waiting  man  was  paler  than  was 
his  wont,  and  there  was  a  tremor  in  his  frame  that 
his  copious  libations  of  brandy  had  failed  to  pre- 
vent, a  more  deadly  pallor,  and  a  very  perceptible 
trembling  assailed  him  when  he  recognized  the  ri- 
der and  the  handwriting  of  the  subscription.  Had 
his  crime  found  him  out  so  soon  ?  Had  the  mes- 
senger bubbles  been  seen  and  read  bv  other  eyes 
than  his  own  ?  It  could  not  be,  yet  he  was  scarcely 
able,  from  excitement,  to  break  the  seal.  Judge, 
then,  the  relief  he  experienced,  when  he  read  the 
letter,  laconic  as  was  the  other,  by  the  same  hand, 
but  of  far  greater  import,  though  as  easily  under- 
stood. It  read  as  follows  : — 

"The  hounds  arfe  out !     A  golden  stag  in  view. 

So  elated  was  the  man  bv  a  relief  from  his  pre- 
sent fears  that  he  hailed  the  tidings  that,  at  another 
time,  would  have  blanched  his  cheek,  as  the  best 
of  news.  The  letter  informed  him  that,  at  last,  a 
formal  complaint  for  counterfeiting  had  been  en- 
tered against  him  ;  that  the  warrants  were  already 
in  the  officer's  hands,  and  that  in  an  hour  or  two. 
at  farthest,  they  would  be  down  upon  him. 

Against  this  charge  he  was  fully  armed.  Years  of 
study  had  enabled  him,  effectually,  at  an  hour's  no- 
tice, to  arrange  his  house,  that  the  most  prving  and 
energetic  of  bailiffs  would  be  at  fault.  A  part  of 


THK  COUNTKKKK1TEKS.  339 

this  plan  was  revealed  when,  on  a  former  occasion 
danger  was  coming  up  the  pass  ;  and  he  proceeded 
at  once,  to  make  such  other  preparations  as  were 
necessary  under  the  circumstances.  He  had  all  of 
his  men  who  were  usually  employed  in  the  house, 
change  their  dress,  donning  the  coarser  or  mining 
d  /esses  of  the  actual  miners:  compelled  each  to  de- 
liver up  what  bogus  mougv  he  might  have  by  him 
and  be  prepared,  immediately  upon  the  breaking 
of  the  shower,  to  repair  to  the  /  mines,  with  pick, 
bar  and  shovel,  and  to  be  actually  engaged  in  using 
them.  Samuel  and  himself  were  to  be  in  differ- 
ent shafts,  superintending  the  laborers,  while  the 
"gentlemanly  stranger"  woidd  remain  within  doors 
employed  in  making  some  chemical  and  analytical 
experiments  with  ores. 

"I  am  woefully  at  a  loss  to  imagine  who  could 
have  made  the  complaint,"  said  the  old  man,  Pruv- 
ter,  when  all  these  arrangements  had  been  made, 
and  himself,  his  son  and  the  "gentlemanly  strang- 
er" were  met  in  his  room.  "I  certainly  have  no 
suspicions  of  anv  of  our  hands,  for  none  of  them 
have  been  for  sufficient  time  from  under  espionage 
to  enable  them  to  do  it,  either  by  word  of  mouth, 
or  by  writing ;  nor  is  there  anyone  that  I  wouldn't 
trust  without  watching,  so  long  as  there  is  no  re- 
ward offered  for  treachery." 

"Is  it  not  possible  that  this  Captain  Lorimer,  as 
he  calls  himself,  has  done  it  in  revenge?"  inquired 
the  "gentlemanly  stranger,"  in  a  very  gentlemanly 
manner.  He  certainly  made  threats  enough  when 


HE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

here,  to  warrant  any  person  of  ordinary  credulity, 
in  believing  that  he  intended  to  do  so." 

••No  doubt  he  would  have  done  it  before  this,  if 
he  had  but  known  the  fact,"  replied  Pruyter;  "but 
being,  as  I  am  absolutely  certain,  in  blissful  igno- 
rance of  the  secret,  he  had  no  secret  to  disclose." 

••Did  not  his  impish  brother — I  think  you  told 
me  that  he  who  enacted  the  part  of  the  baboon  was 
his  brother — not  pry  into  a  knowledge  of  the  fa6t, 
and  impart  it  to  his  employ er  ?"  asked  the  "gentle- 
manly stranger",  with  that  deference  and  respect 
he  was  so  apt  to  accord  to  his  superior. 

"No,  for  Tom  had  him  under  his  eve,  everv  in- 
stant, from  the. time  he  set  foot  in  our  precindts,  till 
he  and  his  loftv  brother  went  avvav,  like  whipped 
dogs,"  answered  Pruyter. 

"I  think  all  surmisings  are  unnecessary,  at  pres- 
ent," suggested  Sam,  speaking  for  the  first  time; 
"for,  if  the  information  is  given  bv  one  in  the  se- 
cret, the  bailiff  will  march,  at  once,  to  the  private 
door  and  open  our  hidden  treasures  to  the  view  of 
the  world ;  and  then  the  game  is  up.  But  if  the 
complaint  has  been  made  by  one  who  merely  sus- 
pects, our  secret  is  as  safe  as  ever.  Time  will  very 
soon  decide  the  question  in  debate." 

This  suggestion,  simple  as  it  was,  and  the  first 
that  should  have  presented  itself  to  their  minds,  to 
use  a  more  common  than  elegant  expression,  struck 
the  auditors  all  of  a  heap.  The  idea  that  the  secret 
room  was,  or  might  be,  other  than  a  secret,  never 
seemed  to  have  occurred  to  them  before.  This 


THK  COUNTKKKK1TEKS.  341 

treasure  vault  unlocked,  their  whole  career  would 
he  published  broadcast  to  the  world.  They  would 
be  arrested  ;  after  a  season  paraded  before  an  un- 
svmpathizing  public,  and  then  to  serve  a  term  in 
penetentiary  ;  worse,  the  dies  found  that  were  al- 
readv  prepared  for  the  forthcoming  sovereigns,  and 
a  short  shrift  and  a  stout  rope  loomed  painfully  ap- 
parent in  the  near  future. 

The  "gentlemanly  stranger"  showed  the  greatest 
perturbation,  in  a  gentlemanlv  wav,  of  course,  the 
elder  Pruvter,  hardened  as  he  was  in  crime,  and 
drilled  to  all  surprises,  grew  suddenly  pale  and 
tremulous,  two  states  into  which  he  had  never  fal- 
len until  that  day.  Samuel,  who  really  possessed 
more  brute  courage  than  had  fallen  to  the  share  of 
both  the  others,  manifested  in  his  countenance,  a 
dogged  determination  to  abide  the  issue,  whatever 
it  might  be;  an  example  which  his  father  soon  fol- 
lowed and  later,  and  more  reservedly,  the  other  of 
the  trio.  With  a  grasp  of  their  hands  they  finally 
repeated  certain  portions  of  their  fearful  oath,  and 
promised  each  to  stand  by  the  other,  let  what  would 
betide;  this  reservedly,  too,  on  the  part  of  the  last, 
but  not  boisterously. 

While  this  conversation  was  being  held  the  sum- 
mer storm  had  gradually  receded ;  the  lightnings 
Hashing  more  faintly  ;  the  thunder  no  longer  threat- 
ening, but  muttering  complaints  from  behind  the 
hills,  and  the  sun  came  out  vigorously,  and  to  all 
appearance  much  refreshed  from  the  copious  ablu- 
tion he  had  in  sympathy  enjoyed.  When  this  was 


'II IK  COI'XTKKFKITKKS. 


observed,  the  men  hastily  repaired  to  the  several 
stations  assigned  them  and,  in  ten  minutes,  were 
apparently  intently  engaged  in  that  very  innocent, 
though  not  always  profitable  employment,  espe- 
cially in  the  South  Eastern  Townships  of  Canada, 
mining  for  copper  ore. 

They  were  not  long  in  suspense  for,  within  .an 
hour,  Bailiff  Rogers,  at  the  head  of  half-a-dozen 
stout  fellows,  rode  up  to  the  door  of  the  stone  house 
and  inquired  for  Mr.  Pruyter.  That  individual 
was  soon  called,  and  certainly  exhibited  much  sur- 
prise;  but  soon  seemed  to  regain  his  wonted  com- 
posure, when  he  said  : — 

"Well,  friend  Rogers,  you  are  getting  to  be  quite 
a  neighbor,  and  quite  neighborly  in  your  calls.  I 
had  supposed  that  a  man  of  your  age,  with  a  wife 
and  several  little  ones  at  home  would  not  be  hunt- 
ing so  persistently  a  young  girl  who  is  already  be- 
spoken by  another." 

"I  am  not  in  pursuit  of  calico,  to-day,  Mr.  Pruy- 
ter, but  on  more  serious  busines,"  replied  Rogers, 
laughing;  "although  I  am  well  satisfied  the  pres- 
ent charge  is  fully  as  frivolous  as  the  other,  though, 
as  I  said,  far  more  serious." 

"You  startle  me,  Mr.  Bailiff,"  said  the  old  man, 
the  grin  on  his  face  instantly  subsiding.  "Pray  of 
what  enormity  have  I  been  guilty,  now,  that  so 
many  valliant  men  are  required  to  accompany  you 
in  the  discharge  of  your  duty  r" 

"You  and  your  whole  crew  of  workmen  are  ac- 
cused of  counterfeiting,  Mr.  Pruvter." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS,  343 

"Of  counterfeiting,  in  a  small  way,  the  original 
deluge,  you  mean,  I  suppose,"  and  the  cunning  old 
scoundrel  laughed  so  naturally  that  ninety-nine  in 
every  hundred  hearers  would  have  voted  it  genuine. 
If  that  is  the  charge,  I  shall  certainly  plead  guilty 
and  throw  myself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  court,  in 
hopes  of  mitigation  of  sentence." 

"You  misunderstand,  Mr.  Pruvter,  said  Rogers, 
still  smiling.  "You  are  complained  of  for  count- 
erfeiting gold  and  silver  coin  and  bank-notes.  '  I 
do  not  see  that  copper  is  mentioned." 

"Are  you  really  in  earnest?"  asked  E'ruvter,  in 
well-arleded  eagerness.  "No,  I  see  you  are  not, 
by  your  laughing.  How  very  foolish  in  me  to  sup- 
pose that  any  such  ridiculous  and  unfounded  com- 
plaint could  have  been  made  against  me." 

"Nevertheless  true,"  responded  Roberts  ;  "I  am 
commanded  to  arrest  the  whole  party,  and  make  a 
thorough  search  of  their  persons  and  of  your  dom- 
icile; and  if  things  look  suspicious,  to  cause  you 
to  procure  good  bail  or  be  committed,  otherwise, 

as  suggested  by  Justice  D .  who  is  associated 

with  Justice  Shepard  in  the  issuance  of  the  war- 
rant, to  take  each  the  personal  recognizance  of  the 
prisoners,  notify  them  when  to  appear  for  trial  and 
with  a  very  strong  probability  of  the  cases  never 
being  brought  to  an  issue,  let  vou  all  remain  where 
you  are,  to  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  your  several 
ways,  unmolested  until  court-day.  Would  you  like 
to  see  the  warrant/Mr.  Pruvter?" 

"Bv  no  means,  bv  no  means,  Mr.  Bailiff',"   said 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

,^_^^-^^-^ ._*~S-~^'^-~^*-~^^-S 

the  old  man  carelessly,  though  watching  the  other's 
features  with  an  intensity  that  was  apalling  ;  ''your 
word  is  sufficient.  The  men  shall  be  called,  at 
once,  and  i  will,  myself,  assist  you  in  making  the 
search.  Sir,"  he  said,  addressing  the  ••gentleman- 
ly stranger,"  aforesaid,  "will  you  be  so  kind  as  to 
notify  all  the  men  that  it  is  my  wish  that  they  re- 
pair immediately  to  this  place.  This  wa\ .  Mr. 
Rogers.  Where  will  you  begin?" 

"I  am  not  particular,"  replied  the  bailiff,  care- 
lessly ;  "perhaps  the  chambers  fi:-st,  then  down 
along.  This  is  a  mere  formality,  I  am  inclined  to 
believe,  Mr.  Pruvter;  "but  as  their  worshipful  J. 
P's  command,  so,  I  suppose,  I  must  do." 

Had  some  "Old  Man  of  the  Sea,"  more  persist- 
ent than  was  he  of  the  romancing  sailor,  been  sud- 
denly ousted  from  his  position  on  his  shoulders, 
or  some  heavy-hoofed  nightmare  galloped  away 
from  its  self-sought  situation  on  his  breast,  Pruvter 
could  not  have  been  more  relieved,  than  he  was, 
when  his  keen  watchfulness  had  discerned  that  the 
bailiff's  carelessness  was  not  simulated,  and  he 
passed  the  secret  door  in  the  wall,  without  so  much 
as  a  glance  in  its  direction.  He  soon  really  felt  the 
cheerfulness  and  alacrity  he  had  before  pretended, 
and  chaperoned  his  unwelcome  guests  over  the 
building  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction  and  feeling 
of  safety  he  had  not  before  experienced. 

"This,  my  lumber-room,"  he  said,  opening  the 
door  of  the  apartment  lately  occupied  by  Helen 
Leonard,  "was  fitted  up  for  my  ward,  when  she 


THE  COUN'l  EKKKIl  KRS.  345 

returned  from  her  attempted  visit  to  Montreal,  at 
the  time  of  your  last  call,  and  she  has  remained 
here  since,  until  her  departure  for  Baltimore.  She 
is  truly  an  unfortunate  girl,  Mr.  Rogers ;  but  we 
are  in  hopes  of  her  speedv  recovery.  These  are 
the  rooms  of  a  portion  of  my  laborers.  This  the 
sleeping  apartment  of  niv  son,  and  this  of  my  as- 
sayer,"  he  remarked  as  he  in  turn  threw  open  the 
doors  of  the  rooms  he  mentioned. 

A  strict  search  failed  to  make  any  discoveries, 
and  the  bailitV  returned  to  the  lower  floor,  where 
he  examined  the  main  room,  the  kitchen,  the  old 
man's  apartment,  the  closets  and  trunks,  with  like 
want  of  success. 

"Your  home,  here,  Mr.  Printer,  is  quite  a  cas- 
tle for  strength,"  remarked  Rogers,  pointing  to  the 
heavy  shutters  and  strong  fastenings.  "It  would 
take  a  strong  siege  to  make  an  entrance,  were  all 
these  bolts  and  bars  in  place." 

"Men  having  our  unfounded  reputations  as  pos- 
sessors of  wealth,  living  in  such  an  out-of-the-way 
place,  especially  in  such  unquiet  tunes  as  we  have- 
had  for  the  last  year,  must  needs  have  strong  fast- 
enings to  ensure  an  undisturbed  night's  rest.  An 
effort  to  test  their  efficiency  seems  to  have  been  con- 
templated, a  night  or  two  since,  and  one  of  our 
men  was  roughly  handled,  but  the  attackers  seem- 
ed to  think  better  of  their  undertaking,  for  we  did 
not  hear  anything  more  of  it." 

''Indeed  !"  said  Rogers,  and  then  asked  :  ''You 
have  a  cellar,  have  vou  not.  under  the  house?" 


346  THE  COUNTERFEITER; 

.^^x-^x^^-'-^^-'-v-' ^~-^- -^-^^^^^^x^^^-^ — -~- 

"A  small,  rough  hole,  blasted  from  the  rock  ;  or 
rather,  two  of  them,  as  I  should  say  for,  besides 
the  legitimate  cellar,  our  powder-room  is  under  one 
corner  of  the  building.  This  trap  leads  to  the  first, 
by  means  of  a  ladder ;  the  entrance  to  the  maga- 
zine is  from  the  outside," 

"Rather  a  risky  place  to  store  so  dangerous  an 
article  as  powder,  I  should  imagine,"  said  Rogers, 
"But,  as  your  men  have  arrived,  I  will  omit  exam- 
ining the  underground  apartments  while  I  attend 
to  themr  so  they  may  return  to  their  work." 

When  informed  of  the  purpose  of  the  bailiff,  the 
men  were  either  feignedly  or  really  surprised,  but 
underwent  the  ordeal  with  many  a  laugh  and  joke. 
Nothing  rewarded  the  search,  and  the  fully  satis- 
fied officer  proceeded  to  arrest,  and  as  soon  dis- 
charge the  members  of  the  community,  in  rotation, 
agreeable  to  the  instructions  he  had  received,  and 
was  preparing  to  leave,  when  he  was  invited  into 
Pruyter's  room  by  that  individual. 

"I  have  some  very  nice  brandy,  here.  Rogers. 
and  as  the  labor  of  searching  the  house  has  been 
somewhat  onerous,  perhaps  you  would  be  inclined 
to  take  a  glass,"  remarked  the  old  man,  blandly. 
"•I  am  in  the  habit  of  partaking  of  spirituous  liqu- 
ors, moderately,  especially  just  before  eating  or  af- 
ter fatiguing  labor." 

George  Rogers  was  a  fine  fellow,  and  it  was  a 
great  pity  he  would  drink  ;  but  it  was  not  to  excess, 
though  he  dearly  loved  a  glass  of  good  brandy,  on 
all  proper  occasions;  and  deeming  this  as  one,  he 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  347 

turned  out  and  swallowed  a  very  liberal  quantity 
of  the  really  excellent  liquor. 

"A  good  article,  that,"  he  said,  as  he  set  down 
the  empty  glass. 

"Pretty  good,  I  call  it,"  said  Pruvter.  "Try  an- 
other tumbler.  I  will  warrant  it  not  to  hurt  you  ; 
if  it  was  injurious,  I  should  have  been  dead,  long 
ago.  What-a  ridiculous  affair,  Rogers,  this  of  to- 
day ;  if  indeed  we  may  rind  a  laughable  side  to  it. 
I  am  really  more  inclined  to  think  that  the  charge 
was  made  in  a  revengeful  spirit,  instead  of  being 
by  any  person  who  believed  it  was  true." 

"I  have  been  of  that  opinion  all  along,  Mr.  Prin- 
ter, for  we  have  known  you  so  long  and  so  thor- 
oughly, as  a  citizen  of  our  town,  and  have  never 

before  dreamed  of  such  a  thing.  Justice  D 

was  of  the  same  opinion,  and  expressed  it  pretty 
freely,  when  he  gave  me  the  papers;  but  Shepard 
said  the  complaint  was  made,  and  they  could  do  no 
less  than  order  the  arrests  made." 

"Certainly,  certainly,  Rogers;  that  was  plain- 
ly your  duty,  and  you  have  executed  it  in  a  gentle- 
manly manner,  especially  when  the  task  was  put 
upon  you  by  one  who  would — take  another  glass, 
Mr.  Rogers — who  would  vent  some  spite,  either  on 
you  or  me,  by  so  needless  and  uncalled  for  prose- 
cution." 

"Oh,  it  is  no-  game  on  me,  tor  my  fees  are  the 
same  as  if  you  were  mid-leg  deep  in  the  'queer,' 
Mr.  Printer ;  and  certainly,  the  labor  is  much  less 
than  to  commit  the  whole  party  to  Saybrook  jail." 


THE  COUXTERFKITEKS. 

Rogers  would  not  take  the  hint,  however  point- 
edly thrust  at  him,  and  Pruyter  was  finally  obliged 
to  come  more  fully  to  the  point ;  therefore,  after 
mending  his  dram,  as  the  saying  is,  he  said  :  — 

"It  is  quite  natural,  Mr.  Rogers,  that  the  victim 
of  so  witless  a  practical  joke  as  the  one  attempted, 
would  like  to  be  informed  as  to  who  was  its  author, 
and  if  it  is  no  breach  of  official  etiquette  or  duty, 
1  would  be  pleased  to  be  told  to  whom  I  am  indebt- 
ed for  the  kindness." 

"I  should  certainly  esteem  it  a  pleasure,  as  well 
as  a  duty  to  inform  you,"  replied  Rogers,  "did  I 
know,  myself.  No  affidavits  were  produced,  or 
names  mentioned  as  informers,  while  I  was  in  the 
office.  Indeed  I  did  not  think  of  that  part  of  the 
matter,  at  all,  so  much  surprised  was  I  at  the  na- 
ture of  the  charge.  When  I  return  I  will  make  all 
proper  inquiries,  and  if  the  magnates  think  proper 
to  answer  my  questions,  I  will  let  you  know  the  re- 
sult. But  it  is  time  that  1  was  on  the  way.  My 
men,  not  so  agreeably  employed  as  I  have  been, 
may  be  getting  impatient  to  start." 

"Well,  really,  Mr.  Rogers,  I  have  been  very  re- 
miss," exclaimed  Pruyter,  as  if  suddenly  recollect- 
ing his  breach  of  hospitality.  Have  them  in,  all 
of  them,  immediately.  The  business  concluded, 
there  can  be  no  harm  in  their  taking  some  refresh- 
ments of  this  kind." 

"No,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  said  Rogers,  smiling;  "pla- 
cing such  liquor  as  this  before  a  bailiff's  assistants 
would  be  assuredly  like  placing  pearls  before  swine. 


THE  COUNTEUFKITKKS.  349 

They  would  not  appreciate  its  quality,  and  they  can 
wait  until  we  arrive  at  the  village,  when  they  will 
be  sure  to  make  up  for  their  abstemiousness,  for 
the  present,  by  filling-  up  with  Tim's  whiskev,  and 
deem  it  nectar." 

"As  you  will,  as  you  will,  Mr,  Bailiff,  but  take 
a  stirrup-cup  as  a  parting.  Won't  hey?  Well, 
good-day,  good-dav,  and  many  thanks  for  the  con- 
sideration vou  have  shown  us  in  the  discharge  of  a 
very  disagreeable  duty." 

And  away  down  the  pass  rode  his  "Old  Man  of 
the  Sea,"  astride  of  his  nightmare,  in  guise  of  bai- 
liff Rogers  and  his  roan  gelding.  The  relief  was 
certainly  great,  and  the  old  man  of  the  mountain 
realized  it,  but  only  for  a  short  season ;  for  with 
recollection  came  another  fear,  the  ever  recurring 
fear  that  must  last,  in  his  lonely  hours,  through  all 
his  life  ;  a  fear  to  which  he  was  never  to  be  a  stran- 
ger ;  forgotten,  perhaps,  during  some  great  present 
excitement  of  mind,  but  ever  coming  back,  when 
memorv  came. 

It  is  often  the  case  in  the  transactions  of  time, 
that  a  great  sorrow  is  often  temporarily  shadowed 
by  a  less,  as  the  moon  shadows  the  sun.  The  pres- 
ent evil  gains  its  prominence  from  its  nearness,  the 
the  recent  date  of  its  occurrence,  and  by  its  thus 
gained  prominence,  shuts  out  from  the  mind  an- 
other evil  that  may  be  far  more  corroding  in  its  na- 
ture, when  having  its  full  sway.  So  had  the  dan- 
ger of  detection  in  the  lesser  crime,  for  the  time 
being,  kept  away  the  apprehension  of  a  discovery 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^x-^^^. ^^-^^~ — -s^^-^x-^^x^^x-—- 

of  the  greater,  while  the  officers  of  the  law  were 
present,  prepared  to  bring  to  punishment  io:' coun- 
terfeiting, but  when  !hat  minister  of  human  justice 
had  departed,  he  was  in  presence  of  one  of  divine 
justice,  who  was  equally  prepared  to  punish  him, 
eventually  for  murder, 

There  is  something  peculiarly  terrible  to  the 
homicide.  There  are  other  crimes,  though  not  so 
many  now  as  formerly,  the  penalty  of  which  is 
death  ;  death  by  the  bullet,  or  by  the  more  igno- 
minious halter;  yet  he  who  has  forfeited  his1  life  for 
either  of  them,  feels  not  that  tenor  of  detection, 
that  is  experienced  bv  him  who  has  taken  a  human 
life,  intentionally.  His  sleep  is  not  so  disturbed  ; 
his  dreams  so  terrifying,  or  his  conscience  so  much 
harrowed  by  guilt  as  is  that  of  the  premeditated 
slaver.  True,  the  near  approach  of  the  grim  mon- 
ster, into  whose  maw  we  are  all,  sooner  or  later, 
drawn,  has  its  peculiar  horrors ;  but  there  is  a  vast 
difference  in  the  two,  when  that  dread  hour  comes. 
The  fear  of  meeting  an  offended  God,  has  perhaps, 
some  effect,  but  the  rule  holds  good  with  the  infi- 
del as  well  as  a  believer  in  the  tenets  ot  Christian- 
ity, the  same  with  heathen  and  moslem,  with  the 
pagan  Modoc  and  the  sexton  of  a  Christian  church. 
And  William  Pruyter,  hardened  as  he  was,  felt 
all  of  this.  To  be  convicted  of  coining  English 
sovereigns  was  death.  To  kill  Helen  Leonard  was 
death  ;  but  he  had  rather  face  a  judge  and  jury 
ten  times  for  the  former  crime,  than  once  for  the 
latter,  the  penalty  being  the  same. 


THE  COrNTEIU-KITKKS. 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE    APPOINTMENT    KEPT. 

X  the  same  day  of  the  second  and  equally 
unsuccessful  visit  of  Bailiff  Rogers  to  the 
Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  Herbert  Lo ri- 
mer was  pacing  back  and  forth  on  the  ve- 
randah of  Dan  Morrison's  tavern,  smoking  a  cigar, 
and  enjoying  a  view  of  revivified  nature  and  the 
smell  of  the  spring  flowers  and  the  resinous  odors 
disseminated  by  the  young  balsam  and  pine  trees, 
near  at  hand.  The  shower  had  not  been  so  severe 
where  he  was  as  it  had  been  at  Copper  Mountain  ; 
yet  it  had  been  sufficiently  hard  to  wash  the  roads 
in  many  places  and  fill  the  banks  of  the  rivulets  in 
some  cases  to  overflowing.  The  air  was  cool  and 
in  its  life  giving  qualities  a  freshness  and  exhiler- 
ation  in  its  effects,  that  it  had  not  possessed  for 
many  a  long  day  ;  and  the  promenader  inhaled  long 
draughts  with  a  relish  that  gave  new  color  to  his 
face  and  a  more  rapid  flow  to  his  blood. 

His  pride  as  a  military  man  had  undergone  some 
reaction,  as  it  was,  no  doubt,  intended  should  be 
the  case,  by  the  Governor  General,  in  the  judgment 
that  he  should  publicly  surrender  his  sword  to  his 
adversary,  Captain  Stanfield.  To  give  the  latter 
named  official  due  credit,  he  was  of  too  generous 
a  nature,  a  compliment  we  wish  we  could,  with 
truth  accord  to  other  officers  in  Her  Majesty's  Pro- 
vincial Army,  to  exult  over  a  fallen  foe,  and  had 
divested  the  ceremony  of  many  of  its  objectionable 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

features,  bv  his  manly  courteousness  and  urbanity. 
Lorimer  had  noted  the  full  force  of  this  kindness, 
that  had  blunted  the  point  of  the  disgrace,  as  he.  in 
pride,  deemed  it;  and  the  two  officers,  formerly 
enemies,  parted,  after  a  sumptuous  supper,  at  the 
expense  of  Stanneld,  with  many  a  protestation  of 
friendship  and  esteem  ;  although  the  royal  captain 
shook  his  finger  with  a  playful  menace  at  Hector, 
who  was  one  of  the  guests,  telling  him  that  he  had 
an  account  to  settle  with  him  for  scalding  the  hair 
from  his  horses'  rumps. 

Hector  made  some  reply  in  his  own  peculiar  vein 
that  set  the  assembled  guests  in  a  roar  of  laughter, 
so  ready  are  people  to  be  merry  over  a  good  sup- 
per, especially  when  the  feast  is  one  given  to  cele- 
brate the  reconciliation  of  old  feuds,  and  the  for- 
mation of  new  ties  of  friendship  and  peace. 

He  had  heard  too  of  the  results  of  the  session 
of  the  commission  of  Lunacv,  in  Miss  Leonard's 
case  and  also  of  her  departure,  as  reported,  for  the 
private  asylum,  in  Maryland  ;  and  had  he  been  in- 
formed in  season,  would  have  pursued  the  public 
conveyance  supposed  to  contain  her,  and  by  a  per- 
sonal interview,  have  solved  the  manv  doubts  that 
were  crowding  his  mind.  But  fortunatelv  for  the 
plans  of  the  arch  schemer,  William  Pruyter,  the 
natural  speed  of  the  vehicle  would  have  carried  her 
to  where  she  would  meet  the  cars,  and  she  would 
be  far  beyond  his  present  reach  before  he  could  get 
under  wav.  He  had,  therefore,  determined  to  re- 
main a  few  days,  meet  Howard  as  requested  by  that 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


individual  and  learn  what  it  was  he  should  know  ; 
and  then,  fully  informed  of  all  the  circumstances, 
set  out  for  Baltimore  and  answer,  bv  occular  dem- 
onstration, all  his  misgivings  that,  do  what  he 
would,  he  could  not  otherwise  banish. 

In  connection  with  his  formed  intention  of  meet- 
ing Howard,  he  bethought  himself  of  the  letter, 
and  upon  examination,  to  his  surprise,  discovered 
that  it  was  gone.  His  memory  did  not  inform  him 
of  the  circumstance  of  its  falling  from  Dan's  knee 
to  the  floor.  Upon  asking  that  person,  he  seemed 
to  have  a  faint  recollection  of  the  affair,  but  not 
sufficiently  clear  to  enable  him  to  account  for  its 
loss.  On  inquiring  of  Hector,  that  astute  voung 
gentleman  well  remembered  that  he  saw  it  lying 
upon  the  floor  after  their  departure  for  the  purpose 
of  hunting  the  partridge,  and  that  Roberts  picked 
it  up  with  a  careless  remark  that  Dan  had  dropped 
the  letter  and,  for  fear  that  it  would  be  blown  away, 
he  would  take  it,  and  return  it  to  him,  on  the  first 
opportunity. 

A  somewhat  impatient  exclamation  at  the  petti- 
fogger's intrusive  and  inquisitive  disposition  was 
cut  short  bv  the  appearance,  at  the  front  entrance 
of  the  house,  of  Miss  Elsie  Morrison,  who  with  a 
cheerful  greeting,  seated  herself  just  out  of  his  line 
of  march,  and  engaged  herself  in  sewing. 

"The  shower  seems  to  have  had  as  reviving  and 
improving  effect  upon  vou  as  upon  nature  in  gene- 
ral," said  Lorimer,  pausing  in  his  promenade  and 
throwing  away  the  stump'  of  his  cigar :  "for  you 


TIIE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

come  out  paricularly  smiling  and  radiant  after  it 
has  ceased." 

"I  got  a  little  wet,"  responded  the  girl,  with  a 
smile,  "  and  being  compelled  to  change  my  cloth- 
ing, perhaps  the  attendant  ablution  has  caused  the 
improvement  you  seem,  contrary  to  my  notice,  to 
have  discovered." 

•'The  sun,  if  we  may  judge  from  what  we  see." 
replied  Lorimer,  "•never  admires  his  own  bright- 
risss,  or  the  stars  their  own  beauty  ;  vet  we  poor 
mortals  can  but  admire  both  in  our  humble  wav." 

•'If  I  am  not  mistaken,"  responded  the  girl,  in 
the  same  bantering  vein  assumed  bv  her  colloquist, 
"the  sun  is  a  most  ardent  ftirter  with  us,  and  the 
stars  arrant  coquettes,  after  their  fashion,  for  they 
invariably  don  their  brightest  garbs,  and  twinkle 
down  upon  us  quite  archly,  well  knowing  that  if 
we  admire,  our  admiration  must  be  shown  from  a 
distance." 

"But,  nevertheless,  admire  as  sincerely,"  replied 
Lorimer.  "As  I  am  to  see  a  bright,  particular  star 
of  your  heaven,  this  evening,  perhaps  vou  have 
some  message  for  him  that  I  may  be  intrusted  with 
for  delivery.  He,  at  least,  admires  not  from  an 
insurmountable  distance." 

••And  what  message  should  I  have  to  send  to  any 
man.  Captain  Lorimer?"  asked  Elsie,  tossing  her 
head.  "This  is  not  leap-year,  I  believe,  and  I 
shall  hardly  take  it  upon  myself  to  open  a  corres- 
pondence with  any  of  your  sex,  until  one  of  those 
anomalous  epochs  arrives." 


THE  COUNTEKFKITKRS.  355 

"What?  Not  with  your  father's  ci  devant  hos- 
tler, the  handsome  William  Howard?"  asked  Lor- 
imer,  with  a  little  mischief  in  his  manner.  "lie 
will  surely  feel  neglected  unles  he  receives  some 
token  from  the  star  of  his  devotion." 

"Are  you  indeed  to  meet  Mr.  Howard,  this  ev- 
ening?" asked  the  girl  with  blushing  eagerness. 
"Not  that  I  care  particularly  on  mv  own  account, 
but  father  may  have  some  word  to  send  to  him  and 
I  will  tell  him  that  he  has  an  opportunity  to  send 
to  him  direct.  I  will  return  in  a  few  minutes,"  say- 
ing which  she  tripped  away  ;  not  to  sec  her  father, 
by  any  means,  but  to  write  a  note  of  her  own,  and 
send  it  under  pretence  of  being  a  message  delega- 
ted to  her  by  that  convenient  individual. 

Lorimer  resumed  his  walk,  the  sadder  in  his 
own  separation  from  the  one  of  his  adoration  than 
he  had  before  been,  ere  he  had  witnessed  the  glad- 
ness of  her  who  could  communicate  with  a  loved 
one,  under  circumstances  that  were  denied  to  him. 
Love  is  selfish,  say  whatever  you  please  about  it, 
and  never  more  so  than  when  deprived  of  privil- 
iges  that  it  sees  others  enjoy.  It  may  sacrifice  life 
for  its  dearest  object,  in  rare  cases,  and  suffer  the 
torments  of  the  damned  when  unrequited  ;  yet  en- 
vv  the  more  fortunate  individual  who  is  loved  in 
return,  and  no  wall  of  separation  isbetween  them. 
Its  own  case  looks  darker  in  contrast  to  the  bright- 
ness of  that  of  the  more  favored  ones  ;  and  in  their 
enjoyment  of  happiness,  finds  but  self-torture  and 
miserv  for  itself. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Saddened  as  the  young  Canadian  was,  by  the 
many  embarrasments  and  disappointments  that  had 
.seemed  to  meet  him  on  every  hand,  wherein  the 
progress  of  his  love  was  concerned,  he  was  a  libe- 
ral possessor  of  that  sustaining  quality  called  Hope 
— the  light  of  many  a  dark  place,  the  anchor  with 
good  holding  ground,  that  keeps  the  vessel  of  Des- 
tinv  from  drifting  full  upon  the  rocks  of  Despair — 
and  trusted  in  anticipation  of  success,  that  many  a 
less  disappointed  man,  or  of  less  sanguine  temper- 
ament would  have  considered  of  too  week  a  sus- 
taining power,  on  which  to  base  any  very  good 
grounds  of  expectations.  He  had  been  a  favorite 
of  fortune,  faithfullv  served  bv  that  proverbially 
fickle  attendant,  Luck,  in  a  greater  share  of  his  un- 
dertakings; and  had  vet  an  almost  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  the  chance  that  had,  almost  invariably, 
proved  propitious  and  good-natured  in  his  pursuits. 
Nor  did  he  now  seem  to  have  cause  of  foreboding, 
when  viewed  from  his  own  stand-point,  confident 
in  the  belief  that,  though  the  course  of  true  love 
never  yet  run  smoothly,  it  generally  settled,  at  last 
into  an  evenly  gliding  stream,  until  it  merged  in 
the  ocean  of  matrimony  ;  where,  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence, it  was  liable  to  the  frettings  and  foam- 
ings  of  that  inevitably  restless  state. 

According  to  her  promise,  the  voting  ladv  soon 
appeared,  putting  in  his  hand  a  nicelv  folded  and 
superscribed  billet,  though  wanting  in  one  of  the 
essentials  of  a  novelist's  love-letters,  a  delicate  per- 
fume ;  which  Lorimer  gallantly  took  and  promised 


THE  OOUKTKRFPCIT1ERS.  357 

to  faithfullv  deliver.  At  the  same  instant  Hector 
came  around  the  corner  of  the  building,  mounted 
upon  the  Doctor's  usual  travelling  companion,  the 
intelligent  Logan,  shining  in  his  new  coat,  polish- 
ed by  many  a  rub  of  currycomb  and  brush,  in  the 
accustomed  hands  of  the  handsome  hostler's  suc- 
cessor, and  full  as  manv  supplementary  touches 
from  the  hands  of  the  more  than  particular  Hector. 
Quicklv  vaulting  into  the  saddle,  the  captain  waved 
an  adieu  to  the  landlord's  pretty  daughter :  to  the 
landlord,  himself,  who  had  just  made  his  appear- 
ance, and  to  Hector,  who  with  his  head,  like  that 
of  some  sage  ape,  upon  one  shoulder,  was  admir- 
ing the  fine  condition  and  graceful  action  of  the 
horse  as  he  trotted  away,  with  arched  neck,  watch- 
ful eve,  expanded  nostril,  and  ears  alternately  laid 
back  or  thrust  forward,  and  lofty,  springing  step, 
that  denoted  that  adtion  was  rather  his  pleasure 
than  a  pain  ;  and  carrying  his  rider  as  proudly  as 
ever  did  a  mother  her  first-born. 

And  Herbert  Lorimer  rode  away  with  that  exhil- 
aration of  spirits  a  man  often  feels  with  a  matchless 
horse  under  him.  a  cloudless  sky  above  him  and  a 
heart  free  from  guile  within  him  ;  with  love  his 
guiding-star,  hope  his  anchor,  and  pleasant  expec- 
tations his  bosom  lading.  Did  he  know  to  what 
haven  fate  would  drive  him,  to  what  harbor  his 
own  voluntary  act  was  carrying  him  ?  No  !  Fore- 
boding was  crouched  in  no  part  of  his  mind ;  pre- 
sentiment casting  no  shadow  across  his  brain,  nor 
anticipation  of  the  fate,  in  the  guise  of  friendship. 


358  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

waiting  for  him  at  his  destination,  weighing  down 
his  spirits.  The  grave,  yawning  in  his  path,  cast 
no  shadow  before  ;  the  dagger,  already  grasped  by 
a  murderer's  hand,  threw  no  sparkle  of  warning  in 
advance,  as  does  the  baleful  light  of  the  adder's 
eves  gleaming  premonition  of  the  blow  he  would 
strike  his  intended  victim. 

Four  hours  later  a  farmer  of  the  neighborhood, 
rode  into  Steadville,  with  reeking  horse  and  pale, 
scared  face,  bringing  the  intelligence  that  he  had 
seen  Captain  Lorimer,  murdered  and  lying,  with 
face  upturned  to  the  young  moon,  on  the  pebbles 
of  the  brook  bed,  apparently  thrown  there  by  the 
assassin,  below  a  bridge  near  where  the  road  turn- 
ed oft"  and  entered  the  pass  of  Copper  Mountain. 
He  said  he  was  riding  leisurely  along  towards  his 
home,  just  at  dark,  and  had  been  passed  by  Captain 
Lorimer ;  that  he  soon  passed  a  little  coppice,  by 
the  roadside  where  the  horse  was  tethered  to  a  sap- 
ling, and  that  he  was,  at  the  instant,  surprised  by 
a  pistol  shot.  He  rode  rapidly  forward  in  the  di- 
rection whence  came  the  sound,  and  at  the  bridge, 
had  made  the  discovery.  Astounded  by  so  foul  a 
eleed,  he  had  made  no  particular  examination  of 
the  surroundings,  but  had  hastened,  at  his  utmost 
speed,  to  inform  the  authorities,  thinking  it  the 
proper  course  to  pursue. 

Scarcely  had  the  breathless,  shuddering  man  fin- 
ished his  story,  than  two  or  three  officers  and  sev- 
eral spectators  were  mounted  and  on  their  way  to 
the  scene  of  the  murder.  Thev  soon  arrived,  and 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 

lighting  the  lanterns  they  had  brought  to  enable 
them  to  see  better,  the  new  moon  having  already 
crept  so  far  behind  the  mountain  as  to  give  but  lit- 
tle light  when,  upon  examination  of  the  bed  of  the 
somewhat  swollen  but  fast  subsiding  stream, -they 
found  no  body  there.  On  the  pebbles  were  many 
splashes  of  blood,  and  the  outlines,  as  if  made  by 
a  human  form,  were  plainly  discernable  in  the  sand 
and  near  them  the  deeply  indented  imprints  of  feet. 
They  seemed  to  have  been  made  by  two  different 
persons,  for  some  of  the  tracks  were  larger  than  the 
others,  and  from  a  different  fashioned  boot.  The 
officers  took  accurate  measurements  of  the  foot- 
prints and  in  doing  so,  discovered  a  small,  steel- 
barrelled  pistol,  partially  hidden  in  the  sand,  upon 
which  were  engraved  the  initials  "H.  L."  It  had 
evidently  been  very  lately  discharged.  Upon  the 
bridge  planks  were  smears  of  blood,  some  of  them 
partly  brushed  away,  as  if  some  body  had  been 
drawn  over  them.  On  the  railing  was  the  print  of 
a  man's  bloody  hand,  not  made  of  the  blood  of  the 
murdered  man,  apparently,  but  by  a  hand,  itself 
wounded. 

While  the  officers  were  making  these  examina- 
tions, most  of  the  spectators  had  spread  themselves 
over  the  adjoining  fields  and  roads,  searching  for 
those  who  had  borne  the  corpse  away,  argueing 
upon  the  hypothesis  that  the  murderers  had  been 
frightened,  for  the  time,  from  their  bloody  work, 
by  the  arrival  of  the  farmer,  but  on  his  departure, 
had  returned  to  finish  their  task  by  a  hiding  of  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

bodv,  perhaps  by  casting  it  into  the  lake.  No  dis- 
coveries, however,  rewarded  their  search,  except 
that  of  the  restless  Logan,  who  was  flouncing  and 
pawing  in  his  enforced  inactivity,  probablv  fright- 
ened-bv  some  transaction  of  the  evening. 

The  news  of  the  murder  spread  like  a  wild-fire 
throughout  the  country-side.  Some  version  of  it 
was  in  everv  person's  mouth  ;  some  very  near  the 
truth,  as  far  as  discovered,  but  far  the  greater  num- 
ber as  wild  and  exaggerated  as  they  well  could  be. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  vicinitv  of  Steadville  had 
been  a  quiet,  law  abiding  communitv,  as  far  as  was 
known,  save  the  exception  of  the  last  few  months, 
during  which,  as  has  been  recorded,  some  fruitless 
efforts  at  a  revolution  had  been  made ;  and  such  a 
tale  of  horror,  of  deeds  transacted  in  their  imme- 
diate vicinitv,  and  the  victim,  one  whom  the  late 
events  had  brought  into  prominence,  stirred  the 
depths  of  society  more  than  would  the  narration 
of  deeds  infinitelv  worse  have  disturbed  the  inhab- 
itants of  cities  or  sections  where  such  crimes  were 
not  so  rare.  As  a  result,  scores,  on  the  following 
morning  repaired  to  the  scene  of  the  assassination, 
each  intent  upon  seeing,  if  possible,  the  spot  where 
it  was  done  and  learn,  by  the  use  of  their  own 
eves  and  ears,  the  minutest  details  of  the  tragedy. 

Such  a  concourse  of  people,  as  a  matter  of  course 
impeded  very  much  the  judicial  investigation  be- 
ing made,  and  a  special  police  force  had  to  be  or- 
gani/ed  to  prevent  the  spectators  from  pressing  too 
closely  upon  the  officials,  while  discharging  their 


THE  COUNTEUFKITEKS.  361 

dutv.  But  few  new  discoveries  were  made,  and 
none  of  any  importance  save  as  connecting  links 
of  the  chain  of  circumstantial  evidence,  that  was 
being  forged,  except  the  finding  in  the  grass,  some 
two  rods  from  the  bridge,  of  a  bloody  dirk-knife, 
the  instrument,  no  doubt,  bv  which  the  fatal  blow 
was  given.  No  marks,  save  those  of  blood,  were 
found  on  the  weapon,  and  no  one  recognized  it, 
until  after  several  minutes,  when  Dan  Morrison, 
who  had  just  ridden  up,  saw  it,  and  with  pallid 
cheek  and  quivering  lip,  pronounced  it  to  have  been 
the  property  of  William  Howard. 

This  was  the  first  intimation  of  any  kind,  that 
had  been  given,  pointing  in  any  way  to  the  guilty 
party  ;  but  now  all  was  as  plaints  day.  Roberts, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  first  upon  the  ground  and 
in  virtue  of  his  profession,  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  investigation,  produced  the  lost  letter.  This 
was  all  that  was  required  to  fix  the  guilt,  and  steps 
were  taken,  at  once,  for  the  arrest  for  murder,  of 
William  Howard. 

A  disorderly  rabble  followed  the  officers  to  the 
stone  house,  where  thev  found  Howard,  with  val- 
ise in  hand,  just  leaving  the  building,  as  if  con- 
templating flight.  Bailiff  Rogers  put  his  hand  on 
his  shoulder  and  informed  him  that  he  was  his 
prisoner. 

kiOf  what  am  I  accused,  sir?"  asked  the  voung 
man,  turning  slightlv  pale  and,  at  the  same  time, 
easing  his  valise  to  the  ground  and  putting  his  hair 
back  from  his  forehead,  on  which  stood  drops  of 


362  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


perspiration,  his  left  hand  remaining  in]his  pocket. 
ill  am  unaware  of  having  committed  any  crime 
making  mvself  amenable  to  the  laws." 

"For  the  murder  of  Herbert  Lori  mar,  otherwise 
known  as  Captain,  or  Doctor  Lorimer,"  answered 
Rogers;  "and  1  would  advise  you  to  make  no  re- 
marks that  may  be  construed  into  any  confession 
of  your  guilt,  for  while  the  evidence  seems  to  point 
plainly  to  you  as  the  guilty  party,  you  are  entitled 
to  the  benefit  of  all  doubts  which  may  arise,  and 
anything  like  an  admission,  would  surely  be  used 
against  you  in  your  trial,  when  it  comes." 

During  these  remarks  of  the  worthy  officer,  the 
handsome  face  of  Howard  underwent  such  a  vari- 
ety of  changes  that  it  would  have  required  an  acute 
physiognomist  to  read  from  them  the  thoughts  sur- 
ging through  his  mind,  which  gave  themselves  ex- 
pression so  evidently,  upon  the  working  lineaments 
of  his  countenance.  Flustered  before,  the  extremes 
of  white  and  red,  the  ebb  and  flow  of  blood  in  his 
veins,  alternately  went  over  his  face,  accompanied 
by  such  a  look  of  surprise,  consternation  and  agony 
that  the  humane  Rogers  could  but  pity  the  unfor- 
tunate young  man.  To  the  gaping  spectators  these 
indications,  added  to  such  other  proofs  as  had  been 
elicited,  were  proof  positive  of  his  guilt,  and  mur- 
murs soon  began  to  be  heard,  in  several  parts  of 
the  group,  showing  an  inclination  to  lynch  him 
upon  the  spot.  H  oward  observed  this  and  hoarse- 
ly s;iid,  addressing  Rogers  : — 

••I  beg  of  you  to  remove    me  from  this    danger. 


THE  COUNTEKFEITEKS.  363 

That  I  am  innocent  of  this  fearful  crime  laid  to  mv 
charge,  I  insist,  and  mv  strange,  perhaps  guilty,  ap- 
pearance is  wholly  attributable  to  other  thoughts 
than  those  of  mv  guilt." 

At  this  request  he  was  removed  to  a  room  in  the 
stone  house,  where  he  underwent  a  search.  His 
valise  revealed  nothing,  but  his  person  had  upon 
it  fearful  evidences  of  guilt.  The  right  cuff  of  his 
coatsleeve  had  plainly  developed  blood-marks  upon 
it,  and  the  wristband  of  the  same  hand,  was  more 
plainly  marked.  But  still  more  damning  proofs 
were  vet  to  be  adduced.  When  compelled  to  show 
his  left  hand  it  was  found  to  be  swarthed  in  several 
thicknesses  of  cloth,  which  being  removed,  and 
the  hand  examined  by  Dr.  Martin,  who  was  pres- 
ent, was  pronounced  by  that  individual  to  have 
been  wounded  by  a  pistol  bullet.  Nor  was  this  all. 
In  one  of  the  outside  pockets  of  his  coat  was  found 
the  letter  of  Elsie  Morrison,  the  one  sent  by  Cap- 
tain Lorimer  to  the  prisoner.  This  bearing  on  its 
outside  the  writing:  "By  the  politeness  of  Doctor 
Lorimer,"  seemed  adding  further  and  more  conclu- 
sive evidence  of  the  truthfulness  of  the  charge. 

tkl  know  not,  gentlemen,  what  importance  may 
attach  to  mv  injured  hand  which,  begging  the  doc- 
tor's pardon,  was,  instead  of  a  bullet  wound,  hurt 
last  night,  by  accident,"  said  Howard,  who  had, 
in  a  great  measure,  regained  his  composure,  tho' 
yet  slightly  pale;  k'an  accident  somewhat  remark- 
able and  difficult,  at  the  present,  to  be  explained. 
The  blood-marks  on  the  sleeves  of  mv  coat  and 


364  I  HE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

shirt  may,  of  course,  be  prima  fj.de  evidence  of 
guilt,  were  not  their  presence  accounted  for  by  the 
wounded  hand,  and  the  fact  that  I  besmeared  them 
in  dressing  the  wound.  Miss  Morrison's  letter,  (I 
recognize  the  writing)  which  I  shall  beg  the  priv- 
iledge  of  reading  before  it  is  entirely  removed,  I 
am  certainly  at  a  loss  to  account  for,  as  this  is  the 
first  time  I  have  seen  it." 

''Poor  fellow,"  thought  the  humane  bailiff;  '•"he 
little  suspects  the  finding  the  bloodstained  knife,  al- 
ready recognized  as  his,  or  the  production  of  the 
letter  appointing  the  meeting  at  which  Captain  Lor- 
imer  lost  his  life."  It  was  time  enough  to  inform 
him  of  these  facts  when  his  trial  co.nes.  He  will 
have  full  enough  to  make  him  miserable,  without 
a  knowledge  of  those  circumstances.  But  there 
was  still  another  duty  to  perform,  a  disagreeable 
duty,  but  nevertheless  imperative,  and  he  said  :  — 

••I  shall  be  obliged  to  make  some  further  invest- 
igations, Mr.  Howard.  We  have  discovered  foot- 
prints near  the  scene  of  the  murder,  and  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  measure  your  boots,  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  if  the  two  correspond.  Should  thev 
not,  you  will  have  the  full  benefit." 

"Of  course,  of  course,  Mr.  Bailiff,"  responded 
Howard,  seating  himself  and  raising  one  of  his  feet 
to  the  other's  inspection.  *'Far  be  it  from  me  to 
balk  any  efforts  you  may  make  to  find  the  real  mur- 
derer of  Captain  Lorimer." 

••\  ou  will  have  to  pull  one  of  them  -off,  the  right 
one.  if  you  please."  said  Rogers;  ••and.  in  the 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS.  365 

meantime,  let  me  ask,  if  these  are  the  same  boots 
that  you  have  lately  worn  ?" 

"•Unfortunately  they  are  the  only  pair  I  possess, 
in  the  world,"  replied  Howard,  with  a  faint  smile 
on  his  lips  as  he  said  it.  *'My  finances,  until  late- 
ly, have  not  been  in  a  condition  that  I  might  in- 
dulge in  more,"  and  he  handed  the  one  that  he  had 
withdrawn  from  his  foot  to  Rogers. 

The  measurement  was  taken,  and  it  was  found 
to  correspond,  in  length  and  heighth  of  heel,  with 
the  smaller  track,  but  the  print  in  the  sand  was 
slightly  broader  than  was  Howard's  boot,  a  fact 
that  could  easily  be  accounted  for  when  it- was  ta- 
ken into  consideration  that  where  a  heavy  weight 
is  borne,  the  foot  and  consequently  its  covering,  is 
apt  to  spread.  The  young  man  read,  in  the  down- 
cast and  sorrowful  face  of  the  officer  the  result  of 
his  measurement,  and  again  that  guilt  telling  pallor 
spread  over  his  countenance. 

A  sudden  anu  somewhat  peremptorv  rapping  was 
now  heard  upon  the  door,  beyond  which  the  spec- 
tators had  been  fastened,  accompanied  by  loud  calls 
that  the  prisoner  should  be  brought  out  to  them. 
Rogers  was  on  tire  in  a  moment.  His  eyes  flashed 
menacingly,  and  he  grasped  a  pistol  with  a  motion 
of  the  hand  that  said  shoot  as  plainly  as  could  his 
lips  have  formed  the  words.  He  sprang  to  a  grated 
window,  close  at  hand,  thrust  up  the  sash  with  a 
jerk  and  shouted  in  a  voice  that  drowned  the  noise 
upon  the  door,  as  well  as  the  hoarse  shouts  of  the 
excited  multitude  he  addressed  : — 


366  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"Back,  back,  every  one  of  you  !  What,  would 
you  all  become  murderers  because  one  man  is  sus- 
pected of  the  crime?  Will  you  burden  your  souls 
with  a  deed,  the  deepest  and  darkest  recorded  in 
the  decalogue,  because  you  guess  that  another  has 
been  guilty  of  the  same?  Back,  I  say,  and  the  first 
man  who  attempts  to  put  a  hand  on  my  prisoner, 
dies  as  sure  as  he  now  lives.  Dies,  I  tell  vou,  if  I 
dangle  the  next  moment,  a  corpse,  from  the  near- 
est tree  !" 

This  speech  had  its  effect  on  a  greater  share  of 
the  crowd,  but  there  seemed  to  be  several,  on  the 
outskirts,  who  were  yet  determined  to  put  their 
threat  in  execution,  and  one. of  them,  a  dark  com- 
plexioned  young  man,  whom  Rogers,  at  once  rec- 
ognized, said  : — 

"But  we're  agoing  to  have  him,  Mr.  Rogers. 
The  proof  is  strong  enough  to  hang  a  dozen  men.'' 

••Be  careful,  then,  Tom  Finch,  that  vour  neck 
is  not  one  of  the  first  to  be  stretched,"  shouted  the 
enraged  bailifi'.  ••!  know  vou,  sir,  and  I  know  you 
to  be  the  most  graceless  scoundrel  that  treads  the 
soil  of  Canada."  Then  turning  to  old  Pruyter, 
who  had  been  an  eye-witness  of  all  that  had  trans- 
pired inside  the  house,  he  continued,  addressing 
that  individual:  "It  seems,  Mr.  Pruyter,  that  it  is 
your  people,  and  yours  alone,  who  are  making  this 
disturbance  and  inciting  these  men.  by  their  clam- 
ors, to  an  act  that  their  own  better  nature  revolts  at. 
See  to  it  that  they  are  quiet,  and  that  at  once,  and 
that  they  draw  off,  and  make  no  further  attempts 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  367 

to  create  a  disturbance,  or  you  may  cause  me  to  be- 
lieve that  there  is  something  beneath  all  this,  when 
his  fellow  workmen,  by  whom  he  has  been  loved 
and  been  respected,  are  hounding  him  for  killing 
your  greatest  enemy.  See  to  it,  I  say,  William 
Pruvter,"  he  -said,  dropping  his  voice  to  a  signiffi- 
cant  kev,  "else  I  must  conclude  that  you,  as  their 
chief,  have  more  to  say  in  these  men's  words,  than 
does  your  dirtiest  and  most  subservient  tool,  Tom 
Finch,  when  his  mouth  is  open  the  widest  and  he 
shouts  'hang  him'  the  loudest." 

Had  a  twenty-pound  Parrott  shell,  with  the  fuse 
nine-tenths  burned,  landed  at  his  feet,  at  that  insrt> 
ant,  the  hoarv  old  villain  to  whom  these  words  had 
been  addressed,  could  not  have  shown  more  con- 
sternation or  perturbation.  An  ever  present,  and 
jealously  guarded  secret,  in  his  mind  at  all  times, 
he  was  quick  to  take  alarm,  and  his  countenance 
showed  it.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  do  as  he  was 
commanded  ;  and  stepping  to  the  window,  from 
which  Rogers  passed  to  give  him  an  opportunity, 
he  called  one  of  his  men  to  him,  and  addressed  a 
few  words  in  his  ear.  The  result  was  immediate. 
The  miners  and  other  workmen,  separated  them- 
selves from  the  crowd  of  spectators,  at  once,  as  if 
in  obedience  to  a  signal  made  by  Pruyter,  and,  as 
they  were  joined  by  the  man  to  whom  he  whisper- 
ed, they  hastily  made  oft',  up  the  pass. 

"It  is  well,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  said  Rogers,  seeing  it 
done.  .And  now,  Mr.  Howard,  if  you  have  any 
arrangements  to  make,  before  voti  leave,  you  now 


368  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

have  liberty  to  do  so.  Of  course  vou  will  make 
no  undue  remonstrance  against  my  putting1  these 
on,"  he  said,  producing  and  snapping  on  his  wrists 
a  pair  of  handcuffs  :  "or  of  having  one  of  mv  men 
attend  you,  should  you  wish  to  leave  this  room?" 

••Not  in  the  least.  Mr.  Bailiff,''  responded  the 
prisoner,  gazing  at  the  irons  in  a  sort  of  dream v. 
abstracted  manner,  as  if  he  hardly  realized  what 
they  were.  "You  are  very  kind,  and  only  do  your 
duty.  I  have  no  arrangements  to  make,  save,  if 
you  will  allow  me  the  privilege  of  the  reading  of 
Miss  Morrison's  letter."  And  there  was  such  an 
expression  of  mute  and  uncomplaining  agonv  on 
his  features,  when  he  made  the  request,  that  more 
than  one  heart  among  his  hearers,  beat  the  faster 
when  thev  witnessed  it. 

This  done,  Rogers  flung  wide  open  the  portal, 
and  advanced,  followed  bv  Howard  and  his  assi.st- 
antx.  directly  through  the  crowd  gathered  around 
it.  who  respectfully  iell  back  out  of  his  path  as  he 
strode  along.  Gaining  their  horses,  the  officers 
mounted  Howard  upon  one,  and  though  followed 
as  far  as  Steadville,  by  a  portion  of  the  mob,  where 
;i  vehicle  was  obtained  for  the  prisoner,  without 
any  interferance  in  word  or  deed. 

At  Steadville  a  regular  complaint  was  made:  a 
legal  warrant  issued  and  the  prisoner  lawfully  ar- 
rested, and  before  the  sun  had  gained  his  western 
bed,  was  safely  committed  to  Saybrook  gaol,  there 
to  answer,  in  due  course  of  time,  to  the  charge  ot 
willful  and  premeditated  murder. 


TMK  COUNTEKHUTKKS.  ^9 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A    TRUE    FRIEND    IX    ADVERSITY. 

P  to  this  period  in  our  semi-veracious  nar- 
rative, events  have  so  crowded  upon  each 
other,  in  their  rush  upon  the  stage  of  our 
drama  that,  many  times,  thev  have  been 
roughly  jostled  together,  with  little  regard  to  the 
order  of  their  presentation  to  the  reader's  eve ;  but 
now  we  have  a  short  breathing  spell.  A  fortnight 
will  pass  before  any  farther  of  the  main  incidents 
tending  to  the  catastrophe,  will  transpire  ;  and  only 
some  of  the  minor  threads  of  the  filling  will  be  re- 
quired to  be  taken  up  and  carried  along  to  the 
linished  web.  A  lifetime  of  adventures  may  some- 
times transpire  in  the  space  of  a  single  month  ;  and 
such  has  been  the  fate  of  the  characters  of  our  tale. 
In  other  times  and  under  other  circumstances,  the 
same  individuals  might  have  lived  to  the  common 
allotted  age  of  man,  without  having  witnessed  one 
half  of  the  tribulations  and  trials  to  which  they 
have  been  subjected,  during  twenty  davs. 

During  the  fortnight  mentioned,  of  course,  much 
had  been  said,  published,  surmised  and  guessed  at 
in  regard  to  the  murder  of  Herbert  Lorimer  by 
William  Howard.  The  populace,  in  general,  of 
the  vicinage  were  growing  prejudiced  against  the 
accused.  The  confidence  placed  in  his  murderer, 
by  the  victim  ;  his  causeless  jealousy  ;  his  threat, 
and  all  the  various  circumstances  known  to  the 
reader,  but  supposed  to  be  utterlv  unknown,  save 


370  I  Hi£  COUNTERFEITERS. 

to  a  few  others,  began  to  be  bandied  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  commented  upon,  inferences  drawn  and 
conclusions  arrived  at,  in  almost  every  case,  preju- 
dicial to  the  prisoner.  It  would  not  have  taken  a 
very  shrewd  detective  to  trace  these  results  up  to 
their  cause,  the  inveterate  hatred  of  the  Pruyters. 
The  talking  public  knew  no  reason  why  the  occu- 
pants of  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass  should  be  in- 
terested in  the  fate  of  the  accused,  and  failed  to  give 
them  the  credit  their  dne. 

On  the  contrary,  the  keepers  and  attendants  of 
the  jail  in  which  young  Howard  was  confined,  as 
well  as  the  better  class  of  citizens  of  Savbrook, 
were  particularly  friendly  to  him,  and  as  a  natural 
consequence,  all  the  freedom  consonant  with  a  due 
regard  to  his  sate  keeping  was  given  him  ;  his  cell 
was  well,  nay,  comfortably  furnished,  and  his  ta- 
ble was  really  not  inferior  to  many  of  the  boards  of 
the  aristocracy.  This  latter  circumstance  might 
be  ascribed,  in  some  measure,  to  the  great  interest 
taken  by  certain  young  ladies,  wealthy  and  respec- 
table, but  romantic,  in  the  sad,  handsome  face  of 
the  prisoner.  To  esteem  him  had  become  fashion- 
able; to  be  fashionable  was  to  be  popular;  to  be 
popular  was  to  be  admired ;  to  be  admired  was  to 
become  a  pet;  and  thus  had  William  Howard  be- 
come the  pet  of  the  few,  and  the  bugbear  of  the 
many.  It  would  be  within  bounds  to  say  that  he 
was  visited  by  hundreds  during  that  fortnight,  and 
each  visitor  left  some  token  of  his  or  her  admira- 
tion in  the  shape  of  tood,  drink,  flowers,  finer  bed 


THE  COUNTEUFEITERS.  371 


clothing,  and  even  jewelry  of  various  kinds ;  and, 
above  all,  they  left  him  good  wishes  and  as  cheer- 
ful a  state  of  mind  as  a  man  in  his  condition  might 
reasonably  enjoy. 

Nor  were  the  ladies  of  Saybrook  and  its  vicinity 
the  only  ones  who  came  with  sympathy  and  en- 
couragement to  the  prison  cell  of  the  accused  mur- 
derer, for,  on  the  fourth  day  of  his  incarceration, 
the  turnkey'  admitted  a  lady,  as  she  seemed,  close- 
lv  veiled  and  draped  in  a  long  cloak.  When  this 
person  entered,  she  seemed  to  bring  some  peculiar 
state  of  atmosphere,  or  some  other  eledtric  cause, 
for  the  prisoner,  who  was  seated  at  a  small  table, 
engaged  in  reading  a  letter,  and  who  rose  with  all 
the  grace  that  his  heavilv  manacled  limbs  would 
admit  of  to  welcome  some  stranger,  as  he  suppos- 
ed it  was,  started  as  with  some  galvanic  shock,  and 
his  face  paled  and  his  lips  trembled  from  some  un- 
known cause.  The  lady  appeared  fully  as  much 
agitated  as  did  he,  for  she  staggered  to  a  seat  and 
sunk  into  it,  as  if  her  limbs  refused  to  support  her. 

"Oh,  William,  William  !"  she  exclaimed  hastily 
throwing  aside  her  veil  and  revealing  the  agitated, 
tear-stained  countenance  of  Elsie  Morrison ;  "to 
see  you  thus  is  terrible.  I  have  schooled  myself  to 
meet  you  differently,  but  those  irons  cast  a  chill 
over  my  spirits  that  I  cannot  resist." 

For  an  instant  Howard  seemed  as  if  about  to 
spring  to  her,  and  an  eager,  loving,  expectant  look 
went  over  his  face,  and  then  by  an  effort  he  paused  ; 
his  trembling  lip  grew  firm  and  haughty;  the  love 


I  UK  COUNTERFEITERS. 

light  in  his  eves  became  stern  and  cold  ;  the  exten- 
ded hands  dropped  to  his  sides,  and  his  voice  was 
low  and  steady,  as  he  said  :  — 

"Whv  have  you  come  here,  Elsie?  Is  there  not 
enough  of  agonv  in  the  contemplation  of  a  deed 
my  love  for  you  has  led  me  on  to  do,  without  the 
presence  of  the  cause?  Even  now,  when  vour  be- 
loved lineaments  became  exposed  to  my  view,  the 
wayward  heart  that  was — was,  did  I  say? — is,  is, 
and  ever  will  be,  your  own,  went  out  to  meet  you 
as  of  old.  But  as  the  bride  of  another,  murderer, 
as  I  am  accused  of  being,  I  am  yet  too  good  to  tres- 
pass on  another's  rights.  Or  have  you  come  to  de- 
mand, at  my  hands,  your  husband?  Ha,  ha  !  he 
is  beyond  your  reach,  and  mine,  now,"  and  the 
strong  man  sank  back  in  his  seat  and  covered  his 
face  with  his  ironed  hands. 

She  arose  now,  tearless  and  strong  for,  when  he 
was  tremulous  and  weak,  her  true  woman's  nature 
triumphed  over  woman's  infirmity — she  rose  now, 
and  approaching  him,  placed  her  white  hand  gent- 
ly upon  his  shoulder,  for  she  conceived  that  he  was 
not  himself  in  mind. 

"William  Howard,  I  came  not  to  reproach,  but 
to  cheer  ;  not  to  add  one  shade  of  a  shadow  to  vour 
sorrows,  but,  by  every  possible  means,  to  drive  a- 
wav  care  and  add  what  beams  of  sunshine  I  may, 
where  now  all  is  darkness;  not  to  put  the  slightest 
stumbling-block  in  your  path,  but  by  the  hand  of 
affection  to  smooth  your  way  to  the  last.  I  cio  not 
ask  you  whether  or  not  you  did  thi»  deed.  I  would 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 


373 


not  know,  until  such  time  as  a  jury  of  your  coun- 
try shall  decide.  My  place,  William,  is  at  your 
side.  If  ever  needed  there,  when  more  than  now, 
when  more  than  when  danger  thickens  around 
your  pathway?  When  others  stand  aloof,  and  look 
with  suspicious  eyes,  then  true  affection  should 
cling  the  closer.  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  this, 
and  unless  you  actually  repulse  me,  and  deny  me 
admittance  to  your  presence,  at  your  skie  I  shall  re- 
main. Yes,  William  Howard,  I  have  come  here 
to  claim  my  husband  at  your  hands,"  and  there  was 
a  proud,  almost  defiant  expression  of  countenance 
and  bearing,  mingled  with  her  blushes,  as  she  said 
it.  "I  have  come  to  claim  my  husband,  nor  will 
I  be  denied.  It  is  not  the  dead  husband  I  claim, 
but  the  living;  not  the  murdered,  but  the  murder- 
er, if  vou  will.  You  are  promised  to  me,  before 
heaven,  and  I  demand  the  pledge." 

During  the  first  part  of  her  speaking,  Howard 
had  remained  with  his  forehead  clasped  by  his 
hand,  but  as  she  progressed,  he  raised  his  head  and 
looked  her  in  the  face.  Intently,  fixedly  he  gazed 
as  if  to  read  the  very  heart  of  the  speaker. 

"But  I  am  a  murderer — a  murderer.  Do  you 
realize  the  full  force  of  the  word?"  he  asked,  after 
a  few  moments.  "My  own  acts  have  released  you 
from  your  promise.  Are  you  demented?  Has  my 
great  crime  destroyed  your  reason  ?  Consider,  I 
pray  vou,  where  your  course  would  lead." 

"I  have  considered;  nor  am  I  insane,"  she  an- 
swered proudly.  *kYes,  yes.  I  appreciate  the  lull 


374  THIi  COUNTERFEITERS. 


force  of  the  word,  and  were  your  hands  still  red 
with  homicidal  blood,  I  would  keep  my  promise. 
When  I  made  it  there  was  no  condition  attached 
to  it ;  there  is  none  to-day.  All  men  have  their 
sins;  none  are  perfect." 

"Yet  all  men  are  not  homicides,"  he  said. 

"Nor  all  women  faithful,"  she  responded. 

"But  report  said  that  you  were  to  marry  Herbert 
Lorimer,"  said  Howard,  a  portion  of  his  coldness 
returning,  and  again  bending  his  eyes  fully  upon 
her  honest  features. 

"To  marry  Herbert  Lorimer?"  she  asked,  sur- 
prised. "What  has  put  so  wild,  so  unreasonable 
an  idea  into  your  head?  Ah,  that  explains  what 
was  so  blind  to  me  before,"  she  continued  in  a  mu- 
sing manner.  "I  heard  at  Steadville,  as  I  passed 
through,  that  some  said  that  jealousy  was  the  cause 
of  the  crime.  I  attributed  the  surmise  to  the  ex- 
aggeration that  ever  attends  the  excitement  conse- 
quent upon  anv  startling  crime  being  committed, 
and  gave  it  no  farther  attention." 

"There  is  a  portion  of  my  authority,"  Howard 
said,  presenting  her  the  Journal's  article,  that  he 
had  cut  out  and  preserved;  "the  rest,  of  course, 
is  useless  if  that  is  untrue." 

"Really,  how  ridiculous!"  she  exclaimed,  smil- 
ing almost.  "That  paragraph  has  reference  to  the 
contemplated  marriage  of  Captain  Blake  and  Het- 
ty Carpenter.  I  said  contemplated  ;  it  was,  then, 
but  now  finished,  for  it  was  to  have  taken  place  at 
ten  o'clock,  this  morning,  and  probably  did." 


THE  COUNTKKFKITKK*.  375 

"Is  this  true,  Elsie  Morrison?"  he  asked,  and  a 
flood  of  thought  seemed  to  surge  through  his  brain, 
like  molten  lead,  scorching  its  way,  and  leaving  a 
seared,  withered  track,  as  ,fire  on  the  prairie  des- 
troys all  before  it,  but  the  bare  soil,  and  leaves  that 
in  its  wake,  smoking  and  desolate. 

"You  have  never  had  occasion,  William  How- 
ard," she  replied,  earnestly,  "to  doubt  mv  word, 
heretofore,  and  whv  should  you  now  ?  As  a  man 
and  companion,  I  certainly  respected  Doctor  Lor- 
imer;  but  as  anything  more  I  have  never  thought, 
nor  he  of  me,  I  am  assured  ;  for  his  heart  is  alrea- 
dy in  the  charge  of  Miss  Leonard,  of  whom  I  have 
heard  so  much.  You  know  but  little  of  me,  Wil- 
liam, when  you  doubt  mv  constancy.  Would  I  so 
far  forget  the  place  that  stern  conventionality  ac- 
cords to  the  female,  as  to  propose  a  marriage  to  an- 
other, were  my  feelings,  in  the  least,  interested  in 
him,  or  anyone?" 

"No,  no,  Elsie,"  he  exclaimed,  clasping  her  in 
his  arms,  and  imprinting  a  kiss  upon  her  waiting 
lips;  "and  1  beg  your  pardon  for  a  moment's  in- 
credulity,. But  do  you  mean  that  vou  will  marry 
me,  me  an  accused  criminal,  accused  of  a  crime, 
the  most  horrible  known  to  human  and  divine  law  ': 
Would  you  put  your  hand,  so  pure,  in  one  stained 
a  crimson  red  with  the  blood  of  a  human  being, 
slain  by  itself?  Can  it  be  that  you  will  forsake  all 
that  may  make  life  endurable,  and  join  your  fate  to 
one  whose  days  are  already  almost  numbered,  and 
whose  destinv  it  may  be  to  find  an  ignominious 


376  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

death  upon  the  scaffold.  Indeed,  indeed,"  he  con- 
tinued, as  she  hid  her  face  on  his  breast;  "so  much 
happiness  is  more  than  I  deserve." 

"But  no  more  than  you  shall  enjoy,"  replied  the 
heroic  girl,  lifting  her  face  from  his  bosom,  and 
disclosing,  in  the  act,  a  countenance  on  which  was 
painted  in  most  glowing  colors  the  jov  she  experi- 
enced. Then  again  resuming  her  half-sad  tone, 
she  continued  :  "Our  union  may  not  be  without  its 
sorrows,  but  I  shall  be  content.  Thev  tell  me  there 
is  much  needed  to  be  done  for  vour  defence,  when 
your  trial  comes,  that  one  in  your  situation  cannot 
do,  and  I  can  work  when  I  have  so  gojd  a  cause. 
Hut  give  me  a  right,  as  your  wife,  and  no  effort 
shall  be  spared  to  procure  all  the  evidence  that  can 
be  got,  to  prove  vour  innocence." 

"I  fear  me  that  such  efforts  will  be  of  no  avail," 
remarked  Howard,  thoughtfully.  "There  is  a  web 
of  circumstantial  evidence  wrapped  around  me  that 
it  seems  in  vain  to  attempt  to  penetrate.  This  ad- 
ded to  the  prejudice  existing  among  the  public,  can 
have  but  one  result — my  conviction." 

"Have  you  employed  a  lawyer,  yet?''  asked  El- 
sie. "Mv  father  opposed  the  course  I  had  deter- 
mined upon,  for  two  days,  but  on  the  third  he  took 
me  bv  the  hand  and  told  me  he  honored  mv  cour- 
age, and  that  I  should  not  be  balked.  He  brought 
me  as  far  as  Steadville  when  I  came,  but  was  com- 
pelled to  return.  He  told  me  to  tell  you  that  no 
expense  should  be  spared,  and  that  your  friends 
would  stand  bv  vou  to  the  last.  He  said  that  the 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  377 

best  counsel  in  the  States  and  Canada,  should  be 
employed  and  paid,  if  you  would  name  your  choice 
of  men.  He  did  not  feel  half  as  engaged  until  he 
heard  the  reports  that  were  rife  at  Steadville,  and 
traced  them,  as  he  thought,  to  the  malignity  of  the 
Pi  uyters  :  and  then  he  swore  roundly — vou  know 
he  does  swear,  once  in  a  while,  William,"  and  the 
old  smile  came  back,  in  a  measure — "swore  that 
justice  should  be  done  for  vou,  if  the  devil — you 
needn't  laugh;  1  was  only  telling  you  what  he  said 
— stood  in  the  gap." 

••Thank  God,  honest  Dan  Morrison  is  a  friend  !" 
exclaimed  Howard.  4>He  is  a  host  in  himself  and 
1  value  his  friendship  more  highly  than  you  can 
imagine.  As  for  paving  my  counsel,  I  have  al- 
ready written  to  two  men  who  will,  without  doubt, 
act  for  me,  and  I  have  a  plenty  of  money  now,  to 
pay  all  bills;  but  I  am  just  as  thankful  for  his  good 
wishes  as  I  should  have  been  for  his  good  deeds." 

"And  have  you  no  other  friends,"  she  asked  ; 
••none  I  mean,  where  vou  came  from,  who  would 
assist  vou  in  this  emergency  !" 

"I  have  many  and  sincere,  yes.  influential  and 
wealthy  friends  there  ;  but  I  have  hesitatecj  about 
applying  to  them.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  die, 
if  die  I  must,  without  their  knowledge?  It  can 
make  but  little  difference  to  them,  the  mode  of  my 
passing  away  ;  and  their  memory  of  me  as  guilt- 
less, would  be  better  than  the  remembrance  that  I 
died  upon  a  scaflold,  a  public  malefactor." 

"But  you  cannot  insure  their  ignorance  of  your 


378  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

fate,"  said  Elsie;  "for  accounts  of  the  crime  are 
published  far  and  near,  and  they  cannot  fail  of  get- 
ting to  their  ears,  sooner  or  later." 

"True,  true,"  replied  Howard,  musingly.  "You 
are  right,  Elsie,  and  perhaps  the  tale  from  my  own 
pen  would  be  less  repulsive  than  would  it,  coming 
from  any  other.  Yes,  I  will  write  to  them.  But 
can  you  tell  me  whether  they  have  found  the — the 
body,  yet?" 

"I  am  informed,  not,"  she  said.  "Hector,  who 
has  been  perfectly  wild  with  grief  since  the  occur- 
rence, has  been  with  the  searching  party.  He  re- 
turned this  moming,  just  as  we  came  away,  and 
seemed  very  much  changed  in  his  demeanor.  His 
anguish  seems  to  have  settled  into  a  quieter  grief. 
He  made  some  threats  against  you,  at  first,  but  has 
made  none  lately.  He  told  me  that  the  body  was 
not  found,  nor  the  other  man  of  whom  they  were 
in  search. 

"The  other  man?" 

"They  say  you  was  not  alone  in  the  act,"  said 
Elsie — "You  see  that  I  can  talk  of  this  matter  per- 
fectly coolly,  and  because  I  have  an  abiding  faith 
in  your  innocence " 

"Mv  innocence,  child,  you  must  be  beside  your- 
self." 

"And  am  I  not?"  she  asked,  nestling  closer  to 
him  as  they  sat  side-bv-side  ;  "or,  beside  one  who 
is  soon  to  be  a  part  of  myself?  They  say  you  was 
accompanied  by  another  man,  larger  than  yourself, 
or.  at  least,  with  larger  feet,  for  two  sets  of  tracks 


THE  COUNTKHKKri  KKS.  379 

were  found,  one  set  apparently  bv  your  feet,  and 
another  set  from  a  size  or  two  larger  hoots  and  of 
a  coarser  make.  They  say  that  there  is  no  doubt, 
but  the  body  was  carried  away  and  thrown  in  the 
lake,  as  the  footprints  were  traced  to  the  shore,  and 
there  seems  to  have  been  an  imprint  of  a  man's 
body  in  the  sand  ;  though  many  claim  the  print  to 
have  been  made  by  a  boat.  Mr.  Rogers  is  of  the 
latter  opinion  aud  while  some  are  dragging  the  wa- 
ters, he  has  searched  the  entire  length  of  the  lake, 
fora  boat  that  would  make  such  a  mark." 

"What  are  the  Pruyters — a  most  villanous  pair 
of  vultures,  I  must  sav — what  are  the  Pruvters  do- 
ing all  this  time?" 

"Hec\or  did  not  say,  only  that  the  old  man  was 
present  and  taking  a  part,"  replied  Elsie.  "Sam- 
uel was  not  there,  he  said,  being  detained,  by  his 
business  at  the  mines.  But  my  time  must  be  near- 
ly out,  and  I  have  not  made  myself  very  useful  as 
yet,"  and  she  hastened  to  put  the  little,  rough  cell 
in  order,  in  a  manner  that  only  the  hands  of  loving 
woman  could  do.  "I  shall  come  again  to-morrow," 
she  said,  "and  maybe  bring  the  minister.  Oh,  you 
needn't  remonstrate,"  she  continued,  archly,  and 
shaking  her  ringer  at  him  ;  "there  is  no  hope  for 
you.  I  have  got  you  where  vou  cannot  get  a  way, 
and  unless  you  surrender,  I  will  bring  an  officer, 
and  sue  vou  for  breach  of  promise,  if  they  have 
any  laws  on  this  side  of  the  line  for  the  benefit  of 
poor  forsaken  damsels." 

"Mv  heart  savs  ves,  but  mv  fears  sav  nay " 


380  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

••But  my  heart  says  aye  and  amen,  and  I  have  no 
fears,"  she  interrupted;  "so  there  is  a  clear  ma- 
jority. But  if  you  are  really  anxious  for  a  small 
delay,  I  don't  know  but  I  will  give  you  twenty-four 
hours  longer,  but  that  is  the  utmost  stretch  of  my 
complaisance." 

"Well,  if  I  must,  I  must,"  he  replied,  smiling, 
notwithstanding  his  awful  situation.  "If  there  is 
no  escape  from  my  destiny,  I  might  as  well  acqui- 
esce with  as  good  grace  as  I  can  muster." 

"Altogether  the  wisest  course,  Mr.  Howard," 
she  said,  when  hearing  the  heavy,  re-echoing  steps 
of  the  turnkey  coming  toward  the  door  of  the  cell, 
she  hastily  rose  and  continued  :  "The  jailor  is  at 
hand.  Keep  up  the  courage  a  bridegroom  should 
ever  feel  on  the  eve  of  his  nuptials.  God  be  with 
you,"  and  she  bent  and  kissed  him  on  his  cheek,  as 
purely  as  an  angel  might  kiss,  and  though  a  tear 
fell  on  the  same  spot,  it  did  not  wash  the  labial  seal 
away,  but  imprinted  it  the  deeper;  and  with  a 
smile  on  her  good,  honest  face,  she  bade  him  "A-u 
revoir"  and  passed  through  the  door,  held  ajar 
by  the  good  Matured  turnkey. 

Had  a  lone,  stray  sunbeam  that  had  forced  itself 
through  grate  and  bar,  and  smoky  glass,  into  the 
prisoner's  cell,  been  suddenly  ejected  at  the  door- 
way, it  could  not  have  left  the  rock-bound  apart- 
ment more  gloomy,  cold  and  cheerless  than  did  the 
departure  of  the  sunshiny  face  of  Elsie  Morrison. 
Though  seemingly  volatile  and  effervescent,  if  such 
terms  may  be  applied  to  a  woman's  mind,  she  was 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  381 


as  true  at  heart  as  steel ;  though  occasionally  flashy 
and  vivacious  she,  like  the  planet  Venus,  the  most 
brilliant,  to  earthly  eyes,  of  all  the  heavenly  bodies 
of -night,  was  steadfast  and  faithful  to  the  loved  one, 
as  is  her  prototype,  the  morning  or  evening  star  to 
the  earth.  What  course  she  would  have  taken  had 
she  believed  him  guilty,  we  know  not,  nor  did  she; 
but  while  she  was  assured,  in  her  own  mind,  of  his 
innocence,  though  slander,  reproach  and  insult  be 
heaped  upon  him,  she  would  not  forsake  him;  and 
to  make  what  efforts  she  felt  was  necessary  should 
be  made  by  herself,  in  his  behalf,  the  more  eftec~t- 
ive,  she  resolved  to  place  herself  in  a  position  that, 
while  it  gave  her  a  right  and  a  duty  to  perform,  the 
tongue  of  slander  should  have  no  opportunity  to 
sully  her  good  name,  one  of  her  priceless  treasures, 
in  no  other  way  could  she  accord  him  that  assist- 
ance, that  her  great  love  prompted  her  to  give,  and 
at  the  same  time  leave  her  reputation  spotless,  es- 
pecially as  the  great  crime  and  Howard's  impris- 
onment for  it  had  brought  them  in  such  prominence 
that  her  minutest  act  would  be  noted  and  commen- 
ted upon.  Having  determined  upon  a  course,  she 
adopted  it  fearlessly, and  the  result  was  her  visit  to 
the  jail,  as  recorded. 

It  was  quite  fashionable  some  years  ago,  and  we 
are  sorry  to  say  that  it  has  not  changed  so  much  a^» 
fashions  generally  do,  for  some  ape  the  old  style, 
to-day,  to  cast  slurs  upon  the  constancy  and  stead- 
fastness of  woman  ;  to  give  them  little  credit  for 
the  real  faithfulness  that  is  their  due.  or  damn  them 


382  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

with  faint  praise,  for  deeds  their  own  dull  brains 
cannot  appreciate.  The  sphere  of  her  usefulness 
may  be  small,  it  i»  true,  and  the  field  upon  which 
her  eftbrts  are  expended  limited,  in  comparison. to 
that  of  many  men,  vet  has  it  not  been  said,  in  sub- 
stance, if  ye  are  faithful  in  small  things,  ye  shall 
be  made  rulers  over  many?  While  man  with  ques- 
tionable motives  revolutionizes  nations,  women 
combats  the  insiduous  workings  of  disease,  at  the 
bedsides  of  the  poor,  ill  and  forsaken  ;  while  man 
builds  cities,  woman  polishes  his  rough  work  with 
gentleness  and  love,  and  while  man  erects  prisons, 
woman  smooths  the  path  of  the  inmates,  with  ad- 
vice and  care. 

The  next  day  Elsie  appeared  as  soon  as  the  time 
arrived  for  the  admission  of  visitors,  unaccompa- 
nied, however,  by  th^  minister,  giving  fora  reason 
that  the  reverend  gentleman  was  to  be  absent,  un- 
til night,  but  would  certainly  take  pleasure  in  call- 
ing upon  Mr.  Howard,  the  following  morning, 
according  to  his  request. 

"But  I  didn't  ask  him  to  come,"  said  Howard. 
••You  don't  suppose  that  the  man  who  is  to  be  hung 
will  invite  the  hangman  to  make  his  appearance, 
without  fail,  do  you?" 

••But  I  did,"  said  Elsie,  laughing,  ••and  that  is 
jrst  the  same.  I  used  vour  name,  tor  I  thought  it 
would  look  better  for  the  expectant  bridegroom  to 
summon  the  officiating  clergyman,  than  the  bride 
elett  should  ask  his  presence." 

••I  see  that  my  case  is  hopeless."  smilingly  said 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  383 

Howard;  "so  have  your  own  way.  The  sooner 
a  bad  job  is  over  with  the  better,  and  then  it  is  oft" 
vour  mind." 

"Look  here,  Mr.  William,"  retorted  Elsie,  with 
mock  seriousness  in  her  tone  ;  "I  have  done  all  the 
courting;  popped  the  question,  and  spoken  to  the 
minister,  and  now,  if  you  hang  back  a  single  ins- 
tant more,  I'll  kick  the  whole  thing  over,  go  down 
to  Boston,  where  Mr.  Roberts  has  gone,  and  mar- 
rv  him.  He  will  not  require  more  than  one  ask- 
ing. He  will  jump  at  the  first." 

"Seriously,  though,  my  dear  Elsie,"  said  How- 
ard ;  "a  union  in  marriage  with  YOU,  would  be  mv 
greatest  happiness;  not  even  seeing  these  bolts  and 
bars  all  removed,  and  mysejf  a  free  man,  would 
bring  half  the  jov ;  yet  it  is  for  vou  1  think;  for 
vour  future  I  hesitate." 

"Say  no  more  then,  sir,"  exclaimed  Elsie.  "I 
am  amply  able  to  take  care  of  myself,  and  judge 
the  best  what  are  my  best  interests,  and  thev  are  to 
man  v  vou  .to-morrow  morning.  In  the  meantime 
is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you?  Your  room 

must  be  put  in  order,  for  the  Hon.  Mrs.  P , 

and  Mrs.  Judge  } ,  are  to  visit  you,  to-day. 

No  love  making  to  them,  if  you  please,  for  I  am 
easily  excited  to  jealousy,  and  am  a  perfect  tiger, 
while  in  that  condition.  I  am  informed  that  seve- 
ral younger  ladies  are  calculating  to  call.  With  so 
much  company,  I  would  suggest  a  larger  suite  of 
apartments,  and  furniture  of  a  better  description, 
too,  and  larger  and  more  sightly  windows." 


384  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

And  thus  she  rattled  on,  from  one  subject  to  an- 
other, as  the  bird  hops  from  bough  to  bough,  or  the 
bee  from  flower  to  flower,  drawing  from  each,  the 
sweets,  if  not  of  consolation  in  his  great  trouble, 
at  least  oblivion  for  the  present  from  a  recollection 
of  his  situation.  And  for  this  end  it  was  intended. 
With  a  woman's  quick  wit,  she  had  seen  that  he 
brooded  too  much  upon  his  crime,  if  he  was  guilty, 
which,  poor  girl,  she  did  not  yet  believe.  They 
say  that  to  believe  is  happiness.  In  this  case,  dis- 
belief was  bliss. 

With  the  morrow  came  Dan  Morrison,  Hector 
Lorimer,  Alick  Cameron  and,  last,  but  not  least, 
the  Rev.  Theron  Spencer,  a  Protestant  clergyman 
oi  Saybrook,  the  person  having  power  to  join  on 
earth,  the  bodies  whose  souls  had  been  united  by 
a  Higher  Power,  whose  delegate  he  was.  In  Mor- 
rison and  Cameron  there  was  but  little  change,  as 
their  guileless  faces  were  the  same  as  ever,  save  a 
melancholv  that  sat  there,  not  like  the  whining  de- 
jection of  a  suffering  boy,  but  with  an  enobling 
grace  that  told  that  the  heart  was  touched  by  some 
great  sorrow.  Hector's  face  was  pale  and  worn 
with  care,  and  the  frolicsome  gaietv  of  his  usual 
manner  entirely  gone. 

Howard  greeted  them  all  with  a  cordiality  that 
was  far  from  affected,  although  he  was  a  compara- 
tive stranger  to  two  of  them  ;  but  misfortune  had 
brought  them  together,  to  use  its  mildest  term,  and 
so  important  had  been  the  events  of  the  last  fort- 
night, in  which  the\  had  been  connected,  that  the 


THE  COUNTEKKKl'l  KRS. 

*~***^*-+^^~**~r*~r^-+*l~^S*~~^**+S~+*~**~-^. 

time  of  their  progress  had  seemed  so  long  that  the) 
appeared  to  each  other  in  the  light  of  old  acquain- 
tance. Morrison  essayed  a  few  consoling  remarks, 
but  entirely  broke  down  in  the  attempt,  the  tears 
that  had  rilled  his  honest  eyes  overflowing  upon  his 
brown  face,  the  fountains  of  sympathy  inundating 
their  banks. 

"Keep  a  good  heart,  and  a  stiff"  upper  lip,  my 
boy,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  choking  in  his  throat; 
"and  you  will  find  that  my  wayward  girl,  here,  is 
not  the  only  friend  you  have.  These  confounded 
Pruyters  have  made  more  friends  than  enemies  for 
you  by  the  course  they  have  taken.  Had  they  been 
amicable  t  don't  know  as  I  should  have  come  at 
all.  I  tried  my  best  to  dissuade  Elsie  from  her  ro- 
mantic notion,  but  I  might  as  well  have  attempted 
to  turn  Clvde  River  upstream,  or  make  a  decent 
man  of  old  Pruyter,  as  to  change  her  mad  notion." 

"And  God  bless  her  for  her  waywardness  !"  ex- 
claimed Howard,  fervently.  "If  it  be  my  fate  to 
die,  it  shall  be  with  her  name  on  my  lips,  mv  last 
look  into  her  honest  eves,  and  blessing  the  name 
of  woman,  as  God's  most  perfect  gift  to  man." 

The  jailor  .and  his  assistants  were  called  ;  How- 
ard's irons,  for  the  time,  removed,  and  the  ceremo- 
ny went  on.  To  all  there,  except  those  the  most 
interested  in  the  rite,  it  seemed  a  wedding  on  the 
brink  of  an  open  grave,  or  a  nuptial  union  where 
Death  was  one  of  the  nearest  spectators;  and  as 
the  solemn  words  were  pronounced  that  made  the 
two  one  in  life  and  death,  the  constrained  breathing; 


THE  COirNTERFBITBRS 

of  all,  even  to  the  circumstance  hardened  officials, 
came  more  freely,  but  there  was  a  contented,  re- 
lieved expression  on  Howard's  face,  even  when 
again  the  fetters  were  clasped  around  his  shrinking 
wrists  and  ankles,  and  his  eyes  were  bent  upon  the 
countenance  of  his  wife,  whose  eves  answered  back 
the  loving  look  with  a  smile  of  deep  affection  and 
encouragement. 

Morrison  and  his  daughter,  accompanied  bv  the 
clergvman,  the  jail  keeper  and  his  assistants,  after 
a  request  that,  for  the  present,  the  marriage  should 
be  kept  a  secret,  suggested  bv  Howard,  soon  left 
the  cell,  and  the  newly  made  husband,  the  canny 
Scotchman  and  voung  Lorimer  held  a  long  confer- 
ence, from  which  the  writer  was  shut  out  with  as 
much  care  as  were  the  others.  And  whether  this 
consultation,  or  the  marriage,  or  both  combined, 
had  the  effect  or  not.  certain  it  is,  that  from  that 
time,  a  portion  of  the  settled  melancholv  of  the  ac- 
cused man  seemed  to  pass  away,  as  a  cloud  from 
before  the  sun  or  darkness  before  the  coming  of  the 
morning.  Indeed,  though  in  his  solitarv  moments, 
the  same  almost  hopeless  gloc  m  frhiciuied  his  pale. 
handsome  face,  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and  her 
cheering  prattle  and  endearments,  manv  a  smile 
usurped  the  place  of  the  former  expression  ;  sad. 
it  is  true,  but  nevertheless  a  smile. 

On  the  third  day  from  the  wedding  a  brisk,  port- 
ly, youngish  man  arrived  on  the  stage,  and  giving 
his  business  at  the  door,  as  of  counsel  for  William 
Howard,  was  admitted  to  that  person's  cell,  where. 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 


3*7 


in  less  than  fifteen  minutes,  he  was  joined  by  a 
florid  faced,  large  man,  with  sandy  hair,  consequen- 
tial manner,  and  long  side-whiskers.  The  first- 
comer  introduced  himself  by  a  name  that  has  now 
become  celebrated  in  the  judicial  field  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  bar,  in  New  York  city.  His  companion 
he  presented  as  a  lawyer,  then  the  most  famous  in 
Canada,  a  resident  of  Montreal.  Howard  bowed 
low  and  giving  Elsie  a  good  natured  dismissal,  for 
a  season,  they  proceeded  at  once  with  another  con- 
ference. It  lasted  fully  three  hours,  when  the  two 
legal  gentlemen  retired,  pausing  but  a  moment  in 
the  street,  in  earnest  conversation,  then  parted,  the 
New  York  lawyer  to  take  the  stage  soon  to  leave, 
and  the  other  to  call  upon  the  Prosecuting  Attorn- 
ey of  Saybrook  county,  to  arrange  the  time  of  the 
trial.  There  was  a  perplexed,  inscrutable  express- 
ion on  the  florid  countenance  of  the  Canadian  at- 
torney when  his  business  was  done,  that  would  have 
given  Howard  some  uneasiness,  had  it  met  his  eve. 
but  fortunately  it  did  not. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  prison- 
er, who  was  alone,  received  n  somewhat  porten- 
tious  looking  document  in  form  of  a  letter,  which, 
when  he  had  broken  the  seal,  he  found  to  be  a  quite 
pompous  communication  from  his  Canadian  attor- 
ney, informing  Mr.  Howard  that  the  trial  would 
take  place  on  the  third  day  of  the  coming  session 
of  the  court,  which  would  commence  in  one  week. 
He  further  told  the  prisoner  that  while  he  was  pro- 
fessionally and  honorably  bound  to  keep  all  of  the 


388  THE  COUNTEKFEn  RKr  . 

communications  he  had  received  from  his  client  a 
profound  secret,  yet  it  was  his  desire  to  be  released 
from  any  farther  employment  as  his  counsel,  for  he 
could  not,  as  one  of  Her  Gracious  Majesty's  At- 
torneys of  the  Queen's  Bench,  endorse  or  counte- 
nance the  plan  of  defence  adopted,  as  wanting  in 
respect  for  the  constituted  authority  of  her  Majes- 
ty s  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  aforesaid,  and  alto- 
gether extrajudicial  and  ur.precedented  in  all  annals 
of  jurisprudence.  He  was  pained,  he  said,  to  dif- 
fer in  opinion  with  the  eminent  attorney  from  New 
York,  and  while  he  accorded  to  that  gentleman  the 
good  judgement  that  his  high  position  as  a  barris- 
ter seemed  to  warrant  him  in  assuming,  he  must 
sav  that  the  course  proposed  was  far  from  a  safe 
one,  and  he  questioned  its  availability  in  a  Canadi- 
an court  of  law.  Much  more  was  set  down  before 
the  signature  was  reached  ;  but  the  foregoing  was 
the  substance  of  the  whole  matter. 

"Well,  let  him  go,"  muttered  Howard,  refolding 
and  depositing  in  his  pocket-book,  the  verbose 
missive  ;  "there  are  others  who  are  not  so  squeam- 
ish as  this  John  Bull,  who  will  take  my  money  and 
see  me  through  the  trial." 

There  happened  to  be  a  young  lawyer,  a  vankee 
that  had  been  settled  a  week  or  two  in  Savbrook, 
who  was  intelligent  and  well-read  and  withal,  but 
little  bothered  by  that  sometimes  troublesome  at- 
tribute called  conscience,  especially  in  his  legal 
practice,  nevertheless  as  honest  as  the  circumstan- 
ces would  admit :  but  one  who  was  ever  faithful  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  389 


his  client,  let  what  would  intervene.  This  young 
man  was  summoned  to  the  cell,  a  consultation  had, 
his  retaining  fee  paid — quite  a  liberal  one,  by  the 
way  ; — and  he  was  let  into  the  plan  of  the  proposed 
line  of  defence.  The  well  pleased  expression  of 
his  countenance,  accompanied,  as  it  was,  in  his  re- 
turn to  his  office,  bv  many  a  muttered  exclamation 
of  "Good!"  ''Glorious  !"  and  other  indications  of 
approval,  seemed  to  imply  that  he,  instead  of  hav- 
ing those  conscientious  scruples  so  largely  possess- 
ed by  his  Montreal  brother  in  the  profession,  was, 
not  only  in  full  approval  of  the  plan,  but  that  his 
judgement  coincided  with  the  originators,  and  pro- 
nounced it  not  only  available,  but  highlv  praise- 
worthy, and  reflecting  great  credit  on  them. 

While  these  matters  were  in  progress,  Bailiff 
Rogers  and  associates  were  in  busy  search  of  the 
lost  or  hidden  bodv  of  the  murdered  man,  without, 
however,  any  success  attending  his  efforts.  For 
the  first  few  davs,  and  while  the  examination  was 
being  carried  on  near  his  premises,  William  Pruv- 
ter  was  almost  constantly  present,  assisting  by  his 
advice  and  counsel,  the  officials.  Rogers,  who 
had  taken  some  unaccountable  miff  at  the  old  man, 
unless  his  ever  manifested  inclination  to  prejudice 
the  minds  of  all  with  whom  he  was  brought  into 
contact  against  young  Howard,  could  be  a  cause  ; 
but  little  relished  the  assistance;  and  on  one  dav. 
when  the  old  scoundrel  had  been  more  than  usually 
insinuating  in  his  hints  and  inuendoes.  he  turned 
upon  him  and  said  : — 


390  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"I  am  afraid,  Mr.  Pruvter,  that  you  are  running 
this  thing  a  little  into  the  ground — overdoing  it.  as 
I  may  say.  I  have  watched  your  own  actions,  as 
well  as  those  of  some  of  your  well  known  under- 
strappers, and  am  satisfied  that  you  are  not  taking 
your  present  course  without  some  reason.  I  speak 
of  all  that  is  done  as  your  actions,  for  it  is  perfect- 
ly well  known  they  would  not  dare  to  act  without 
your  full  consent  and  request.  A  few  of  the  bet- 
ter part  of  community  are  beginning  to  see  it  in 
that  light.  Now  my  advice  to  you,  is  that  you  im- 
mediately discontinue  your  present  line  of  conduct, 
retire  to  your  own  house,  where  you  can,  without 
doubt,  employ  yourself  to  a  much  better  advantage 
or,  at  least,  be  attending  to  your  own  business  and 
letting  that  of  other  people  alone,  and  permit  the 
young  man  to  work  out  his  own  salvation,  if  such 
is  possible.  There  is  no  doubt,  in  my  mind,  that 
the  poor  fellow  is  guiltv,  spurred  on  to  his  crime 
by  his  supreme  love  for  landlord  Morrison's  prettv 
daughter,  whom,  he  was  satisfied,  was  being  led 
away  by  a  villain,  and  that  he  will  swing  for  it, 
but,  by  the  infernal,  he  shall  not  be  hounded  down 
to  his  fate  by  such  as  you." 

The  old  man,  Pruvter,  was  an  adept  at  schem- 
ing, and  usually  knew  about  how  far  to  carry  a  plan 
for  its  best  success,  but  he  had  so  long  associated 
himself  with  those  having  such  dull  and  impene- 
trable intellects,  and  had  been  compelled  to  iterate 
and  reiterate  so  many  times  what  he  would  have 
them  understand,  that  in  an  encounter  with  one  of 


THE  COrNTEKKKITERS.  39! 

Bailiff  Rogers'  keen  intelligence,  he  was  apt,  as 
that  person  had  said,  to  overdo  the  thing.  The, 
by  no  means,  gentle  reminder  of  the  fact,  that  he 
had  just  received,  therefore  struck  him  with  some 
surprise,  and  he  now  saw  that,  in  his  blind  eager- 
ness to  secure  a  conviction  of  the  accused  by  pre- 
moulding  the  minds  of  the  populace,  he  had  made 
his  desire  perfedtlv  plain  to  the  astute  bailiff,  who 
was  not  a  man  to  let  such  things  go  on  without  re- 
buke. How  much  the  officer  knew  or  suspected, 
the  old  man  was  at  a  loss  to  discover;  but  that  he 
was  supposed  to  have  some  ulterior  motive  in  his 
plans,  he  was  assured  by  the  outspoken  officer's 
words  and  his  actions. 

Having  committed  an  error  ot  this  kind,  one  he 
had  but  seldom  committed  before,  and  led  to  it  by 
the  very  fact,  Pruyter  made  all  haste  to  correct  it, 
and  with  it,  its  effects.  He  did  not  at  once,  cease 
all  his  insinuations,  or  those  of  his  agents,  but  they 
very  gradually  began  to  diminish,  and  finally  died 
entirelv  awav,  and  the  miners  of  Copper  Mountain 
soon  began  to  mind  their  own  busines  and  let  oth- 
er people's  alone  and,  without  doubt,  were  more 
happy  in  so  doing. 

But  search  as  he  would,  by  self,  by  deputy  or  bv 
proxy,  the  indefatigable  bailiff  was  in  no  measure 
rewarded  for  his  labor,  bv  the  discovery  of  anv 
further  proofs  than  those  already  recorded. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

THE    TKIAI.. 

A\V  is  an  enigma,  its  practice  a  conundrum 
extremely  problemetical  in  its  solution.  Its 
written  text  is  as  fruitful  in  different  con- 
*•¥  strudtions  as  infidels,  sceptics  and  free-thin- 
kers have  made  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  to  eluci- 
date and  expound  its  obscure  mysticisms,  an  army 
of  lawyers,  judges,  sheriffs  and  hangers  on,  are  re- 
quired. Xor  do  its  exponents  always  strive  to  make 
its  meaning  clear;  on  the  contrary,  seem,  many 
times,  to  add  bv  the  vapor  arising  from  their  breath 
a  greater  densitv  to  the  amount  of  impenetrable  fog 
surrounding  it.  The  glorious  uncertainty  of  law, 
has  become  proverbial,  and  the  many  decisions  bv 
learned  jurists,  heaps  piled  on  heaps,  like  clouds 
on  mist,  but  render  the  strict  letter  the  more  ob- 
scure and  unreadable  bv  common  eves,  those  not 
trained  in  translating  mysticisms,  or  assisted  bv  the 
eye-glasses  of  what  is  termed  a  judicial  education. 
The  abstruse  science  of  jurisprudence,  in  the  hands 
uf  those  who,  from  ignorance,  prejudice  or  design, 
warp  its  already  crooked  meaning  to  their  own  end 
becomes,  like  the  Egyptian  mummy,  in  its  many 
swathings  and  bandages,  excessively  hard  to  get 
at,  and  very  useless  when  disclosed,  save  as  a  relic 
of  a  former  age.  and  a  curiosity,  in  its  way.  to  the 
antiquarian. 

And  the  trial  by  jury.      Long  years  ago.  certain 
personages,  ignorant    but  well  meaning,    by  some 


THE  OOl'NTERFFITERS. 

success  had  obtained  control  over  a  king,  and  to 
show  their  authority  more  than  to  gain  any  right 
that  would  benefit  them,  procured  a  document,  by 
the  high  sounding  name  of  Magna  Charta,  from 
the  aforesaid  king,  guaranteeing  to  them  and  their 
descendents,  forever,  the  right  of  the  Habeas  Cor- 
pus and  the  privilege  of  a  trial  by  a  jury  of  their 
peers,  when  accused  of  crime  of  any  kind,  or  their 
property  was  meddled  with,  either  by  process  of 
law  or  by  the  strong  arm.  Like  the  child  that  cried 
for  a  hot  poker — and  got  it — and  cried  the  louder 
to  have  it  taken  away  ;  so  the  trial  by  jury  to  many 
an  honest  man  has  become  something  worse  than 
a  heated  iron.  Selected,  as  jurvmen  usually  are, 
from  the  ignorant,  prejudiced  and  uncaring  popu- 
lace, no  jury  can  be  impaneled  who  has  not  among 
its  numbers,  some  influenced,  unfavorably  biased, 
or  mulishly  obstinate  man,  who  will  never  consent 
to  an  impartial  verdict,  and  many  times  brings  the 
other  eleven  to  his  views,  harrassed  as  thev  are  by 
long  hours  of  confined,  toilsome  sitting  in  one  po- 
sition, where  thev  have  been  bored  by  technical 
terms,  law  latin,  droning  and  rascality,  and  then 
confined  without  food,  drink  or  sleep,  in  a  room 
with  comfortless  seats,  where  they  are  forced  tore- 
main  hours,  sometimes  days  and  nights,  until  thev 
have  come  to  a  conclusion  in  which  they  have,  nor 
can  have,  any  earthly  interest. 

When  a  crime  of  more  than  usual  enormity  has 
been  committed  in  a  community,  the  minutite  of 
circumstances:  its  cause  and  its  results,  the  likely 


394  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

reason  for  the  deed ;  the  former  and  present  char- 
acter of  the  criminal  are  discussed  in  every  place 
of  meeting  and  in  the  public  prints,  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  none  but  the  most  ignorant  or  heedless  but 
become  acquainted  with  all  the  details,  and  form 
opinions,  either  of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the 
accused,  and  thus,  do  they  tell  the  truth  when  in- 
quired of,  are  excluded  from  sitting,  or,  if  they  lie, 
take  their  seats  as  perjured  men,  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  prisoner  at 
the  bar.  The  effect  is,  to  put  in  our  jury  boxes  n 
class  of  uninformed  men,  who  are  from  that  verv 
circumstance,  unfit  to  serve  as  arbitrators  between 
an  outraged  public  and  the  cause.  To  make  a  bold 
statement,  and  one,  of  course,  to  which  manv  will 
take  umbrage,  while  they  can  but  admit  its  truth, 
we  venture  to  say  that  on  nine-tenths  of  the  juries 
impanelled  in  our  courts,  there  is  at  least  one  man 
who,  for  one  thousand  dollars,  in  cash,  will,  while 
he  does  not  exactly  say  the  prisoner  is  innocent, 
were  the  testimony  as  plain  and  incontrovertable  as 
Holy  Writ,  would  never  consent  to  a  verdict  of 
guilty  being  rendered. 

The  foregoing  remarks  are  not  prompted  bv  anv 
real  or  fancied  wrongs  that  the  writer  has  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  juries  or  jurors,  but  from  a  careful 
and  close  watch  of  the  institution,  through  some 
years,  from  a  stand-point  of  unprejudiced  and  un- 
biased desire  to  ascertain  its  workings  in  all  its  va- 
rious phases.  The  retnedv  we  do  not  pretend  to 
offer,  vet  it  seems  that  men,  educated  to  the  law. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  395 

who  bv  superior  erudition  and  probity,  have  been 
elevated  to  seats  upon  the  judicial  bench  are  better 
able  to  arrive  at  a  righteous  decision  than  are  men 
who  care  but  little,  and  know  still  less,  of  the  law  ; 
and  from  their  very  positions,  oftentimes  wealthy, 
and  with  reputations  to  maintain,  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  bribes,  and  from  familiarity  with  lawyers 
and  courts,  less  liable  to  be  swayed  by  common  re- 
port, personal  appearance  or  the  remarks  of  coun- 
sel, who  strain  every  nerve  to  influence  the  passions 
of  the  twelve  ordinary  tryers  of  our  suits.  Very 
true  occasionally  a  corrupt  judge  through  political, 
pecuniary  or  other  reprehensible  means  has  plant- 
ed himself  on  the  bench  and,  at  bis  hands,  justice 
may  not  always  be  done;  but  in  such  cases,  he  is 
soon  brought  to  the  bar  of  Public  Opinion,  a  far 
more  inexorable  tribunal,  and  arraigned,  tried  and 
convicted.  This  may  happen,  we  say,  and  if  it 
does,  the  instances  are  so  very  rare  in  comparison 
with  those  of  prejudiced  and  bribed  jurymen,  that 
it  seems  but  one  flake  of  snow  among  the  multi- 
tudes forming  a  Canadian  snowstorm. 

The  court-room  of  Savbrook  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing on  the  day  of  the  trial.  The  recency  of 
the  murder;  the  near  proximity  of  its  scene,  with 
the  interest  felt  either,  for  or  against,  the  alleged 
murderer,  increased,  as  it  was,  bv  the  somewhat 
romantic  episode  of  the  marriage  in  the  jail,  the 
truth  of  which  had  leaked  out  within  a  day  or  two, 
gave  to  the  coming  event  a  flavor  of  novelty  that 
was  particularly  attractive  to  the  masses.  At  one 


396  THE  CCH'XTERFEITERS. 

end  of  the  large  hall,  in  their  proper  places,  sat 
the  chief  judge  and  his  associates,  one  of  them  the 

rather  forgetful  Justice  D ,  with  gowns  and 

wigs,  as  is  conventional ;  within  the  railing  were 
nearly  the  entire  bar  of  Savbrook  county,  equally 
clad  in  flowing  robes,  among  them  the  Prosecuting 
Attorney  with  an  air  that  seemed  to  say  :  "Gent- 
lemen, don't  hurrv  ;  there  won't  be  any  fun  until  I 
speak;"  at  his  left  hand,  but  at  the  same  table,  sat 
lawyer  Stevens  of  Steadville,  who  had  been  en- 
gaged, on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the  issue, 
to  assist  that  official.  In  the  dock  stood  William 
Howard,  at  once  the  cause  and  effect  of  the  whole 
transaction,  with  the  irons  removed  from  his  wrists 
only,  and  within  easy  whispering  distance  of  his 
only  counsel,  young  Mr.  Felton.  his  New  York, 
as  well  as  Montreal  attorney  having,  seemingly  de- 
serted him  in  his  d:iv  of  greatest  n»eJ,  an  I  failed 
to  connect. 

Just  without  the  railing  of  the  dock  sat  the  pris- 
oner's young  wife  and  a  companion,  whom  she  had 
induced  to  attend  her  during  the  trial,  both  closely 
veiled.  A  large  number  of  officers  were  in  atten- 
dance, among  whom  was  deputy  bailiff  Heath,  an 
old  acquaintance,  the  whole  under  charge  of  Bai- 
liff Rogers,  who,  with  restless  eyes,  took  in  the 
whole  court-room  at  a  glance.  Among  the  spect- 
ators might  have  been  discovered  several  intelligent 
looking  and  well  dressed  strangers,  as  well  as  more 
familiar  faces.  In  a  somewhat  obscure  corner  sat 
Alick  Cameron,  who  was  vet  a  little  dubious  as  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

what  reception  he  might  meet,  were  he  to  make 
himself  very  prominent.  In  different  parts  of  the 
room  might  have  been  recognized  the  various  in- 
habitants of  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  except- 
ing the  two  Pruyters  and  the  "gentlemanly  strang- 
er." In  one  of  the  seats  sat  a  Canadian  carter, 
with  whip  and  hood  complete,  in  whispered  con- 
versation with  Maggie  O'Brien  ;  nor  was  the  clergy 
unrepresented,  for,  near  the  bar  sat  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Spencer,  and  just  back  of  him,  a  cathoic  priest. 

The  Judge  having  intimated  that  the  court  was 
ready  to  proceed,  the  prosecuting  attorney  arose 
and  suggested  that  the  indictment  be  read  and  the 
respondent's  plea  entered.  This  the  clerk  proceed- 
ed to  do,  to  which  the  prisoner  pleaded  "Not  Guil- 
ty !"  in  a  tone  that  was  far  from  tremulous  or  agi- 
tated. The  firmness  of  the  response  was  noticed 
by  all,  and  various  constructions  put  upon  it,  as  the 
feelings  of  the  hearers  were  favorable  to,  or  against 
the  prisoner. 

By  direction  of  the  chief  judge,  the  clerk  now 
proceeded  to  draw  one  of  the  regular  panels  of  ju- 
rymen attendant  upon  the  stated  term,  to  which 
the  Queen,  by  Her  representative,  made  no  objec- 
tion, except  to  one  person  who  was  a  well  known 
opponent  of  capital  punishment,  from  principle, 
and  to  which,  contrary  to  all  precedents,  all  annals 
of  criminal  proceedure,  in  Canada  or  elsewhere, 
the  accused,  by  his  counsel,  made  no  demur.  The 
prosecuting  attorney  looked  surprised,  lawyer  Ste- 
vens thunderstruck,  the  judge  and  both  associates 


398  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

incredulous,  and  the  spectators  variously.  What 
could  it  mean  ?  The  respondent  and  his  attorney 
looked  unshaken,  the  latter  smiling  serenely. 

Recovering  from  his  surprise  the  Queen's  attor- 
ney proceeded  to  read  again  the  indictment,  and  to 
make  remarks  upon  what  he  expected  to  prove,  the 
enormity  of  the  crime ;  the  supposed  motive,  and 
such  other  matters  as  happened  to  occur  to  him  at 
the  time.  Especially  did  he  debate  and  enlarge, 
with  an  eloquence  peculiarly  his  own,  upon  the 
many  virtues  of  the  murdered  man,  who,  though 
for  a  time,  in  arms  against  his  country,  yet  pardon- 
ed by  His  Excellency,  the  Governor  General ;  and 
came  down  with  forensic  thumps  on  the  table,  as 
he  spoke  of  the  actions  of  the  homicide ;  of  his 
enticing  his  victim  from  a  quiet  home  to  meet  his 
death,  under  the  guise  of  friendship  and  the  im- 
parting of  information  of  one  dear  to  his  heart. 
There  was  not  a  wet  eye  in  the  court  when  he  had 
concluded,  much  to  his  surprise. 

To  this  pleonastic  harrangue,  solicitor  Felton 
quietlv  replied  : — 

"That  he  did  not  understand  his  eminent  broth- 
er to  state  whether  he  was  prepared  to  produce  evi- 
dence of  any  corpse,  murdered  or  otherwise,  being 
found  ;"  and  suggested  "the  propriety  of  at  first 
showing  that  a  murder  had  been  committed,  before 
attempting  to  prove  who  had  done  it.  He  was 
young  in  the  law,"  he  said,  "in  which  his  oppon- 
ent had  grown  old  ;  but  he  had  never  yet  heard  or 
read  of  a  conviction  for  murder,  unless  somebody 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  399 

could  first  be  proven  to  have  been  feloniously  clone 
to  death." 

This  suggestion,  coming  as  it  did  from  one  for 
whom  the  older  lawyers  had  but  little  respect,  was 
considerable  stunning  in  its  effect,  for  the  prosecu- 
ting attorney  hesitated,  stammered  a  few  minutes, 
and  then  sat  down  ;  but  Stevens  arose  quickly,  sav- 
ing that  "the  attorney  on  the  other  side  would  soon 
find  out  that  they  had  a  witness,  in  the  person  of 
farmer  Plowhaft,  who  had  seen  the  victim  dead  and 
hurled  into  the  stream  ;  and  that,  although  the  as- 
sassin had  cunningly  hidden  him  since,  it  would 
not  avail  him."  Felton  merely  turned  his  face  to 
the  judge,  who  said  : — 

"Go  on  with  the  case,  gentlemen." 
A  long  array  of  names  was  now  read  over  by 
Stevens,  with  an  intimation  that  those  whose  names 
were  called  would  step  forward  and  take  the  oath. 
And  they  came ;  the  residents  of  the  stone  house, 
by  various  appellations,  Tom  Finch,  Maggie  O'- 
Brien, Farmer  Plowhaft,  two  or  three  officers,  sev- 
ral  spectators,  who  had  examined  the  place  of  the 
tragedy,  Dr.  Martin,  poor  Dan  Morrison,  who  had 
the  looks  of  one  caught  in  bad  company,  and  some 
others.  To  the  names  of  Charles  Roberts,  Hector 
Lorimer  and  Elsie  Morrison,  no  answers  came,  ex- 
cept to  the  latter,  as  the  former  possessor  rose  from 
her  seat.  Two  or  three  of  the  pretended  miners 
were  first  put  upon  the  stand,  and  testified  to  the 
threat  made  by  Howard,  when  speaking  of  Captain 
Ixnimer  and  his  contemplated  marriage,  in  which 


.J.OO  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

they  represented  him  as  using  the  words:  "God 
forgive  me,  for  I  shall  kill  him  !"  To  the  question 
asked,  in  cross-examination,  by  attorney  Felton, 
the  only  one,  by  the  way,  he  propounded  to  them, 
if  they  were  certain  that  those  were  the  exact  words 
used,  they  replied  that  they  were. 

Maggie  O'Brien,  the  next  witness  to  take  the  - 
stand,  was  interrupted  in  her  testimony  by  Felton, 
who  requested  that  all  the  witnesses  should  be  de- 
tained, as  he  might  have  occasion  to  use  them  later. 
To  this  Judge  Flemming  assented,  and  gave  direc- 
tions accordingly,  and  the  witness  was  allowed  to 
proceed.  Her  evidence  was  the  same,  word  for 
word,  as  that  of  her  predecessors,  and  she  gave  the 
same  answer  to  the  same  qnestion  of  Mr.  Felton, 
and  considering  her  task  finished,  was  about  to  step 
down,  when  that  gentleman  arrested  her  in  the  act 
by  asking  : — 

"You  area  resident  of  Steadville,  and  have,  for 
some  vears,  labored  for  Mr.  Pruyter,  at  his  res- 
idence at  Copper  Mountain,  have  you  not?" 

"Oi  have,  ver  honor,  fer  better  nor  tin  vear  last 
Candlemass,  and  a  more  jinteel '' 

••Xo  doubt,  no  doubt,  Mrs.  O'Brien,"  interrup- 
ted Felton.  "You  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar?" 

••With  the  which,  sor?"  asked  Maggie,  vacantlv. 

••With  Mr.  Willia.n  Howard,  the  gentleman  in 
the  railing,  there,"  pointing  to  the  accused. 

"Indade  Oi  am,  sor,  an'  a  more  bludthustv 

••Bail  fellow,  no  doubt,"  saiu  Felton.  quietly  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  40! 

then  changing  his  tone,  he  asked  suddenly,  "Who 
told  you  he  was  blood-thirsty?" 

"Why,  me  master,  av  coorse,  Mr.  Prator,  sor." 
"So  I  supposed.  Please  keep  your  seat,  Mr. 
Stevens,  I  am  not  through  with  the  witness,"  he 
remarked  to  that  gentleman,  who  was  rising  with 
a  remonstrance  on  his  lips.  "You  are  a  married 
woman,  Mrs.  O'Brien,  I  am  told.  Have  you  any 
children  ?" 

"Xiver  a  wun,  sor,  barin'  me  sister's  bye." 
"Him  you  have  adopted,  and  he  works  for  Mr. 
Pruyter?"  carelessly    remarked    Felton.      "Where 
was  you  on  the  night  of  the  murder  ?"  and  the  ques- 
tion came  like  a  flash  of  lightning. 

"At  me  home,  sor,  av  coorse,  where  ivory  dacint 
married  woman  shud  be,"  replied  Maggie  slightly, 
but  only  slightly,  confused  by  the  rapidity  and  un- 
expectedness of  the  question. 

"Who  gave  you  the  knife  that  you  placed  on  the 
table  in  Howard's  room,  with  the  point  upward, 
near  the  match  safe?" 

"Oi — Oi, — sor, " 

"W'ho  gave  you  the  knife,  I  say?" 

"Me — me — master,  Mr.  Prator,  sor." 

•kl  insist,  your  honor,"  exclaimed  Stevens,  rising. 

"I   in.sist " 

"And  I  insist.  Mr.  Stevens,  that  you  sit  down 
and  hold  your  tongue  and  vour  temper,  until  I  am 
done,"  ejaculated  Felton,  then  turning  he  shot  an- 
other interrogation  at  the  witness.  "Did  your  mas- 
ter tell  von  how  to  arrange  the  knife?" 


402  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

But  certain  signals  had  been  seen  by  the  woman, 
coming  from  the  priest  before  mentioned,  and  she 
answered  : — 

"He  tould  me  nothing,  sor.  The  knife  ye  spake 
av,  happened  to  be  lyin'  on  the  table,  sor." 

"And  who  put  the  two  chairs  immediately  in 
front  of  it?"  shot  out  the  young  lawyer  ;  "on  which 
you  stood  to  arrange  the  curtain  of  Mr.  Howard's 
window?" 

"I  did  that,  mesel'." 

"And  you  told  Mr.  Howard  that  his  lamp  was 
in  his  room.  Did  you  carry  it  there?" 

"Yis,  yer " 

"What  for?" 

"Why,  Mr.  Prator  tould  me  to." 

"Did  you  ever  do  so  before?" 

"No, " 

"Why  did  you  then?" 

"As  Oi  tould  you " 


"Now,  Maggie,"  said  Felton,  in  a  slow,  mean- 
ing tone,  to  which  the  quick,  incisive  one  he  had 
before  used  was  strange  in  contrast.  "You  are 
sworn  to  tell  the  truth,  and  you  have  kissed  the 
book,  and  called  your  God  to  witness  that  you  will 
do  so.  Now  was  not  the  whole  thing  a  scheme  of 
William  Pruvter's,  to  be  carried  out  by  you?" 

For  a  moment  the  woman  hesitated  and  cast  her 
eyes  appealingly  toward  the  priest;  but  she  got  no 
consolation  there,  for  Felton's  eyes  were  upon  him, 
and  he  knew  it.  Then  she  turned,  irresolutely,  to 
the  Judge,  and  finding  no  mercv  there,  she  fell  on 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  403 

her  knees,  and  with  uplifted  hands  and  streaming 
eves,  exclaimed  in  remorseful  accents: — 

"It  was,  it  was,  yer  honor,  an'  may  God  an'  the 
Virgin  forgive  me  the  falsehood  !" 

"That  is  all.  You  mav  go  down,"  said  Felton, 
smiling  serenely. 

The  next  offered  was  the  letter,  appointing  the 
meeting,  and  Giles  Wilson  and  Dan  Morrison  were 
called  to  testify  in  regard  to  its  sending  and  receipt. 
The  farmer  boy  swore  that  the  letter  was  delivered 
to  him  by  Howard,  and  that  he  put  it  in  the  hands 
of  Captain  Lorimer,  or  of  a  person  claiming  to  be 
him.  Felton  asked  him  if  a  gentleman  to  whom 
he  pointed  was  present.  The  answer  was  "yes." 

"When  Mr.  Howard  gave  it  to  you,  in  front  of 
Dr.  Martin's  office  in  Steadville?"  asked  Felton. 

"Yes,  sir,"  and  the  farm  boy  stepped  down. 

Dan  Morrison  came  reluctantly  to  the  stand,  and 
testified  to  the  receipt,  contents  and  hand-writing 
of  the  letter.  The  missive,  he  said,  was  in  Wil- 
liam Howard's  chirography. 

A  knife  was  now  produced  by  the  Queen's  attor- 
ney, which,  when  the  prisoner  saw  it,  drove  the 
blood  from  his  face  and  lips,  and  his  chin  visibly 
trembled.  This  was  a  surprise,  against  which  no 
amount  of  mental  training  could  forearm  him. 

"Do  you  recognize  this  knife,  Mr.  Morrison?" 
asked  the  attorney. 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Dan,  faintly. 

"As  whose?" 

"It  formerly  belonged  to  the  prisoner.      I   have 


4°4 


THE  COl'NTEKFEITEHS. 


seen  it  in  his  possession,  occasionally,  some  time 
since,  and  he  may  have " 

••\\'as  you  present  when  it  was  found?" 

Morrison  went  on  and  told  the  story  as  it  was, 
much  against  his  wishes,  as  we  may  believe,  and 
was  dismissed  by  the  prosecution,  for  the  present, 
as  they  said. 

Other  witnesses  were  called  and  gave  their  evi- 
dence as  to  the  marks  of  blood  on  the  bridge  tim- 
bers, the  print  of  the  bloody  hand  on  the  railing, 
the  finding  and  measuring  of  the  tracks,  and  the 
impress  of  the  body  in  the  sand.  They  also  swore 
to  the  discoverv  of  the  discharged  pistol ;  the  knife 
and  the  abandoned  horse.  Of  none  of  these  Fel- 
ton  asked  any  questions. 

Farmer  Piowhaft  was  now  introduced  with  some 
ostentation  on  the  part  of  Stevens,  and  made  oath 
to  the  finding  of  the  bodv,  his  giving  notice  to  the 
authorities,  and  of  his  failure  to  find  the  corpse,  as 
it  had  lain,  on  his  return  from  Steadville. 

"The  man  was  dead  when  you  saw  him  ;"  asked 
Felton,  turning  to  the  man,  after  he  had  passed  a 
feu  words  with  the  prisoner,  who  had  regained 
his  composure. 

••Yee.s,  sur,"  replied  the  witness. 

k'Will  you  swear,  on  your  oath  before  God  and 
man,  that  he  was  dead?"  asked  Felton,  solemnly. 

••\V'y.  I  doan't  know  es  I  ken  ecksactly  swear  cs 
how  es  he  war  right  played  eout,  es  yeou  may  sav. 
Noa,  I  shouldn't  want  ter  swear,  right  eout  es  he 
war  dead,  'cause  mehbe  he  warn't.  veou  know." 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

"But  you  have  sworn  that  such  was  the  fact,"  as- 
serted Felton,  very  quietly. 

"Wai,  noa,  not  ecksactly  swore  to  ut,  es  yeou 
may  say;  that  is,  I  didn't  take  my  bible  oath,  es 
how  he  war  right  dead,  on'v  opinioned  he  war,  es 
yeou  may  say." 

"That  is  all,  Mr.  Plowhaft,"  remarked  Felton, 
as  a  smile  ran  over  the  faces  of  part  of  the  spec"t- 
ors,  and  even  Judge  Flemming. 

"Wai,  neow  see  ahere,  mister  lawyer,"  began 
the  witness," 

"That  is  all,  Mr.  Plowhaft.    You  may  go  down." 

The  huge  jaws  once  more  opened  with  :  "Wai, 

as  you  may  say,  mister "  but  he  was  compelled 

to  retire. 

Dr.  Martin  being  called,  and  still  absent,  and  the 
day  far  advanced,  the  court  adjourned  until  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  The  witnesses  were  all  notified 
to  be  present  then,  as  in  all  probability  they  would 
be  needed  at  the  time.  During  the  recess  some 
things  happened,  in  connection  with  this  story  that 
shall  be  disclosed  in  the  sequel. 

Upon  the  going  in  of  the  judges,  pretty  much 
the  same  faces  might  have  been  discovered,  with 
here  and  there  a  new  one.  Reports  of  the  first 
day's  proceedings  had  gone  abroad,  and  a  greater 
interest  had  been,  as  a  consequence,  the  result. 
1  Inward  showed  marked  indications  of  a  sleepless 
night,  while  his  attorney  was  more  content,  and 
smiled  more  serenely  than  before.  The  lawyers, 
on  the  other  side,  were  not  quite  so  confident,  but 


_jX>6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

\vere  yet  satisfied  that  a  convi&ion  wa&  reasonably 
certain,  under  the  circumstances. 

Dr.  Martin  was  sworn  and  proceeded  to  testify, 
that  he  had  made  a  critical  examination  of  the  hand 
mark  on  the  railing  of  the  bridge  ;  that  it  was  made 
by  the  left  hand,  and  that  the  blood  evidently  came 
from  some  wound  in  the  hand  itself.-  No  doubt, 
he  continued,  the  murdered  man  had  discharged 
his  pistol,  wounding:  his  assassin,  and  in  throwing 
the  bodv  from  the  bridge,  the  same  hand  had  been 
placed  on  the  railing,  leaving  the  marks  spoken  of. 
He  also  testified  that  he  had  made  an  examination 
of  the  hand  of  the  prisoner,  and  the  wound  there, 
assuredly  made  by  a-  pistot  bullet,-  corresponded  ex- 
actly with  the  impress  on  the  hand  rail.  He  was*, 
he  said,  Mr.  Pruyter's  family  physician. 

For  several  mirwtes  after  the  conclusion  of  his 
examination-in-ebief,  Felton  sat  and  gazed  intently 
into  the  face  of  the  witness,  and  without  speaking. 
For  a  short  time  the  doctor  endured  this  without 
perceptible  emotion*  bat  at  the  emd  of  that  time  be- 
gan to  show  signs  of  wavering  and  perturbation. 
This  increased,  for  a  season,  and  finally  he  turned 
away  his  eyes.  With  some  confusion. 

"Y0(i  are  Mr.  Pruyter's  family  physician,  you 
-.1  \  .  doctor/'  said  Felton  verv  quietly  ;  "and  you 
are.  of  course,  a  regular  practioner ;  have  a  diplo- 
ma as  Doctor  of  Medicine,  no  doubt?" 

••Yes.  sir/1  he  replied,    evidently  on  his   guard. 

"A  graduate  of  some  medical  college  I  presume. 
d«n;tor?" 


TMTE  COUNTERFEITERS,  407 

"Of  twor  sir.  Of  the  Medical  college  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  of  the  medical  department  of  a  German 
University,"  responded  Martin,  proudly. 

"And  a  good  physiologist  and  anatomist?" 

"I  could  hardly  claim  to  he  a  good  physician  or 
surgeon,  uuiess  I  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
phvs.iolo.gv  and  anatomy  of  the  human  frame,"  an- 
swered the  follower  of  Esculapious.  "I  may  say 
that  those  are  subjects  on  wkieh  I  prkle  myself." 

"And  would  have  no  trouble,  of  course,  in  lor 
eating  the  zvgomaticus  major?" 

••Without  the  least  hesitation,  sir,"  said  Martin, 
exhibiting,  contrary  to  his  assertion,  a  state  of  un- 
certainty' not  to  be  expected.  It  is  the  larger  bone 
of  the  ankle  in  the  human  species,  and  of  all  such 
animals  as  are  constructed  on  the  same  model." 

"I  am  sorry  to  disagree  with  so  great  a  scholar 
in  anatomy,"  very  serenely  remarked  Felton.  "Ac- 
cording to  my  reading,  the  zygomaticus  major  is 
a  muscle  in  the  cheek,  and  I  find  it.  in  some  instan- 
ces, very  much  developed.  You  are,  of  coarse,  as 
familiar  with  the  os  hyoides,  doctor?" 

"Perfectly,  perfectly,  sir,"  responded  Martin,  a 
dark  blush  overspreading  his  face,  and  his  tongue 
far  from  doing  its  dutv  readily.  "It  is  the  large 
muscle  passing  transversely  across  the  shoulder,  by 
which  the  arm  is  moved  upward  and  backward." 
"Again,  my  dear  sir,"  remarked  Felton,  bland- 
ly, yet  scarcely  able  to  keep  from  laughing,  and 
following  the  example  of  several  medical  men  who 
were  present.  "Again  mv  books  disagree  with 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

yours,  for  mine  describes  the  os  hyoides  as  being 
the  only  bone  in  the  tongue,  comprising  the  great 
and  small  cornuas ;  being  somewhat  flexible,  more 
so  in  some  than  in  others." 

The  Queen's  counsel  remonstrated,  Mr.  Stevens 
bounded  up  and  down  like  a  rubber  ball,  insisting: 
but  Felton  kept  his  seat,  smiling  very  serenely,  un- 
til the  hubbub  ceased,  when  he  continued  : — 

"You  are  conversant  with  gunshot  wounds,  no 
doubt?" 

•'I  claim  to  be,"  said  the  doctor,  falling  back  on 
his  first  plan  of  simply  answering  the  cross-exami- 
ner's questions,  from  which  he  had  been  seduced 
bv  Felton's  suavity. 

••And  as  you  say  have  examined  the  wound  in 
the  prisoner's  hand,  critically  and  professional U?" 

"Yes,    sir." 

"And  pronounce  it  a  gunshot  wound?" 

"Decidedly,  sir." 

"Did  the  missile  pass  through  the  hand  or  did  it 
merely  penetrate  among  the  muscles  and  bones?" 

••Merely  penetra'ed."  was  the  reply. 

••And  you  removed  the  bullet  when  you  examin- 
ed and  dressed  the  injury,  at  the  time  of  which 
you  speak  ?" 

••Why.  no."  said  the  badgered  witness,  as  the 
crimson  flush  again  mounted  to  his  temples  and 
cheeks,  which  he  vainly  attempted  to  hide  by  an 
ostentatious  use  of  his  handkerchief.  "The  bullet. 
after  striking,  probably  rebounded,  and  cleared  it- 
stlf  of  the  hurt,  and  was  lost." 


THE  CCH'N'TEKFEITERS.  409 

•'In  your  experience  of  gunshot  wounds,  doctor, 
do  you  usually  rind  that  leaden  balls  after  penetra- 
ting human  flesh  are  apt  to  rebound,  as  you  call  it?" 

The  charlatan  was  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  he 
was  caught,  and  he  blushed,  stammered,  perspired 
and  used  his  handkerchief,  vigorously,  but  Felton 
gave  him  no  respite. 

"I  am  told,"  he  said,  that  you  gave  a  letter  to 
the  prisoner,  to  be  forwarded  by  a  boy,  to  Captain 
Herbert  Lorimer,  on  the  first  day  of  this  present 
month.  Is  my  information  correct?" 

'•No,  sir,"  replied  the  witness,  reviving  in  some 
measure.  "I  have  no  recollection  of  any  such 
transaction." 

••Not  in  presence  of  Mr.  Staples?" 

••No,  sir!"  decidedly. 

Bailiff  Rogers  now  came  forward,  and  as  he 
stepped  up  the  two  stairs  approaching  the  witness 
stand,  he  cast  such  a  comical  look  of  entreaty  on 
Felton  that  that  person  was  compelled  to  relax  his 
features  into  something  like  a  smile. 

The  bailiff,  in  a  straight  forward,  business  way, 
told  his  story.  He  had  made  the  most  searching 
examination  of  the  scene  of  the  tragedy  and  its  sur- 
roundings, he  said,  that  the  circumstances  would 
admit  of.  He  had  made  up  his  mind  that  the  vic- 
tim had  met  his  slaver  upon  the  bridge;  that  few, 
if  any,  words  had  passed  before  the  fatal  blow  was 
struck;  that  the  stricken  man  staggered  against  the 
hand-rail,  drew  a  pistol  and  discharged  it  at  the 
other,  wounding  him  in  the  left  hand  ;  that  a  slight 


410 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


struggle  then  ensued,  as  evidenced  by  some  marks 
in  the  blood  on  the  planking,  and  that  the  murder- 
ed man  was  finally  forced  from  the  bridge,  while 
still  clinging  to  the  dress  of  his  assailant,  and  that 
the  latter  had  been  obliged  to  place  his  wounded 
hand  upon  the  rail,  to  preserve  his  own  balance  ; 
that  the  coming  of  Farmer  Plowhafthad  frighten- 
ed the  murderer  awav,  and  that  he  had  hidden  near 
at  hand,  until  the  intruder  had  gone,  when  he,  with 
the  assistance  of  another  person,  had  borne  the 
corpse  to  the  lake  shore,  whence  it  had  been  car- 
ried, in  a  boat.  He  rehearsed  his  search  for  the 
boat  and  the  other  man,  that  had  resulted  in  disap- 
pointment, and  had  finally  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  body  had  been  transported  to  another 
part  of  the  lake,  had  been  attached  to  a  large  stone 
and  sunk  ;  that  the  boat  had  been  burned  or  other- 
wise destroyed,  as  no  such  vessel  could  be  found. 
He  related  the  discovery  of  the  knife  and  its  recog- 
nition bv  Morrison  ;  the  finding  of  the  pistol,  and 
olher  matters  hereinbefore  recorded.  The  witness 
then  told  of  his  going  to  the  stone  house  ;  of  discov- 
ing  the  prisoner  in  the  act  of  leaving;  of  his  guilty 
looks  and  actions;  of  rinding  of  the  letter  of  Miss 
Morrison,  now  Mrs.  Howard,  he  was  informed  ; 
of  his  denial  of  any  knowledge  of  possessing  it; 
of  Dr.  Martin's  examination  of  the  hand,  and  of 
the  measuring  of  H  -ward's  boot,  and  of  his  refu- 
sal to  give  any  account  of  how  he  had  received  the 
injury  t  >  his  hand.  It  was  also  drawn  from  the 
haili:!'.  by  Mr.  Gay  lord,  of  the  presence  of  blood 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  41  I 

upon  the  cuff  and  wristband  of  his  coat  and  shirt. 
He  produced  the  pistol,  the  letter  and  the  meas- 
urement of  the  tracks. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Rogers,"  said  Felton,  in  a  man- 
ner totally  different  from  the  one  he  had  used  in 
questioning  the  other  witnesses,  and  one  that  plain- 
ly showed  that  his  only  desire  was  to  arrive  at  the 
whole  truth  ;  "you  say  the  respondent  exhibited 
signs  of  guilt,  when  arrested.  Would  not  you  or 
I,  each  of  us  innocent  of  the  crime,  and  having 
marks  of  blood  on  our  clothing,  have  manifested 
the  same  surprise  and  consternation,  that  you  not- 
iced in  the  prisoner?" 

"I  am  satisfied  that  we  should,  sir,"  he  replied, 
honestly;  "and  perhaps  more  than  did  he." 

"And  did  you  notice  that  the  track  vou  measur- 
ed was  of  a  boot  that  had  been  'tapped,'  to  use  the 
cobbler's  vernacular  ;  that  -is,  half-soled  ?" 

"Being  reminded  of  the  fact,  such  certainlv  was 
the  case,  though  it  had  slipped  mv  mind  till  now." 

"Is  that  the  boot  you  measured,  as  belonging  to 
William  Howard  ?"  asked  Felton,  handing  to  the 
witness  a  well-worn  specimen  of  foot-gear. 

"It  is,"  replied  Rogers.  "I  recognize  it  by  the 
peculiarity  of  the  patch  on  the  side — its  peculiar 
shape,  I  mean." 

'•Has  that  boot  ever  been  tapped?" 

••Xo.      There  are  no  indications  of  it." 

"And  you  sav  that  the  print  in  the  sand  was  a 
trirle  broader  than  the  boot  in  your  hand?" 

"I  so  found  it." 


412  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

•'And  now,  Mr.  Bailiff,  did  that  hoot  make  ei- 
ther of  the  tracks  that  you  discovered  in  the  sand, 
near  where  the  supposed  murdered  man  had  lain, 
either  on  the  foot  of  this  respondent  or  of  any  other 
man  on  earth  ?" 

"No.  It  is  impossible.  It  could  not!"  replied 
the  witness,  who  was  fast  learning  much  in  his  own 
line  of  business,  and  was  manly  enough  to  admit 
it,  even  to  non-professionals. 

"Mr.  Rogers,"  continued  Felton  ;  "have  you 
noticed,  in  your  search,  and  while  otherwise  enga- 
ged about  this  matter,  that  Mr.  William  Pruyter 
has  shown  much  interest,  and •?" 

"I  remonstrate,  your  honor!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Gay  lord. 

"I  insist,  your  honor,"  ejaculated  Stevens. 

"Well,  let  it  pass,"  said  Felton.  "I  see  that  the 
bird  is  wounded  badly  enough  to  make  him  flutter. 
In  regard  to  the  letter  found  upon  the  prisoner, 
Mr.  Rogers.  In  what  condition  and  in  what  part 
of  his  dress  was  it  discovered?" 

"Unsealed,  but  in  good  condition,  and  being  in 
the  outside,  left-hand  skirt  pocket  of  his  coat." 

"Any  blood  marks  on   it?" 

"None." 

"And  now,  if  the  stab  was  given  almost  imme- 
diately upon  the  arrival  of  the  victim,  as  is  your 
opinion,  and  the  short  time  that  must  have  elapsed 
from  his  passing  Farmer  Plowhaft,  and  of  hearing 
the  pistol  shot,  surely  indicates,  would  the  assailed 
man  have  had  time  to  deliver,  and  the  assailant  an 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  413 


opportunity  to  break  open  and  peruse  the  letter,  in 
the  interval ?" 

"Certainly  not,"  said  Rogers,  his  eyes  enlarging. 

"And  after  the  perusal  of  such  evidences  of  un- 
dying love  and  constancy  as  are  here  recorded, 
would  the  hypothesis  that  jealousy  was  the  prompt- 
ing cause  of  the  crime  be  admissible,  especially 
when  the  missive  was  brought  by  the  very  person 
of  whom,  they  say,  he  was  jealous?" 

"Certainly  not,"  repeated  Rogers,  his  eves  still 
larger  than  before. 

"And  would  a  man  naturally  deposit  such  an  e- 
pistle  in  the  loose  skirt  pocket  of  his  coat  or  if  he 
did  not  read  it  at  the  time,  but  afterwards,  as,  of 
course,  they  will  claim,  how  could  he  put  it  there 
without  having  left  some  marks  with  the  hand  with 
which  it  must  have  been  deposited — the  wounded 
and  bloody  left  hand?" 

This  closed  the  testimony  on  the  part  of  the  pros- 
ecution, for  the  present;  and  when  it  was  suggest- 
ed to  Mr.  Felton  that  he  now  should  produce  his 
witnesses  for  the  defence,  the  court,  the  lawyers, 
the  spectators  and  the  officers  were  dumfounded  by 
the  remark  of  the  prisoner's-  counsel,  that  he  had 
none  to  offer.  Nor  did  he  make  any  answer  to  the 
bombastic  harrangues  ofMessrs.  Gaylord  &  Co. 

The  charge  of  the  judge  was  clear  and  explicit, 
with  no  leaning  to  either  side,  another  anamoly  in 
the  case,  and  the  jury  soon  after  withdrew  to  their 
room  for  deliberation. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE    VERDICT. 

lUDGE  FLEMMING  having  intimated  that 
no  further  business  of  the  court  would  be 
transacted  on  that  day,  they  waited  patiently 
the  expected  return  of  the  jury.  But  they 
came  not  as  hour  after  hour  floated  into  the  past. 
At  six  o'clock,  Judge  Flemming  remarked  that  as 
there  was  no  immediate  prospect  of  agreement,  he 
would  adjourn  the  court  until  to-morrow  morning. 
The  prisoner,  who  had  shown  strong  indications 
of  restlessness  and  concern,  was  remanded  to  jail 
and  the  spectators  slowly  left  the  court  room,  ar- 
guing, in  many  cases,  on  the  trial  and  its  probable 
result,  in  many  admiring  the  keenness  of  the  young 
lawyer,  and  inquiries  as  to  who  he  was.  A  verdict 
of  acquittal  could  hardly  be  hoped  for,  even  by  the 
respondent's  most  sanguine  friends,  save  his  young- 
wife,  whose  confidence  had  never  vet  failed,  and 
would  not  until  the  fatal  word  was  spoken. 

The  morning  came,  and  with  it  almost  the  same 
spectators.  The  rumor  had  gone  forth  that  the 
jury  had  agreed,  and  there  was  every  prospecl  that 
the  verdicl  would  soon  be  rendered.  A  very  per- 
ceptible increase  of  the  constabulary  force  might 
have  been  noticed,  and  they  occupied  all  parts  of 
the  court  room,  mixing  promiscuously  with  the  in- 
creased audience. 

"You  are  a  very  constant  attendant  on  our  sess- 
ions, father,"  said  Rogers',  who  happened  to  be 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

seated  near  the  catholic  priest.  "Giving  us  more 
of  your  presence  than  gentlemen  of  vour  cloth  are 
apt  to  devote  to  secular  matters." 

'•'Homo  sum  ;  hutnani  nihil  a  me  alietinm  />»- 
to,"  responded  he  of  cowl  and  cassock. 

"Just  so,"  said  Rogers;  "though  what  the  devil 
you  mean  by  that  jargon  is  more  than  I  know." 

The  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the  opening 
of  the  jury-room  door,  and  immediately  after,  the 
filing  in  of  the  twelve  men  whose  fiat  was  life  or 
death.  Their  names  were  severally  called,  and 
responded  to ;  the  clerk  asked  them  if  they  were 
agreed,  they  all  bowed. 

••Who  shall  speak  for  you?"  asked  the  clerk* 

"Our  Foreman,"  they  all  replied. 

"Stand  up,  gentlemen,  and  vou,  the  prisoner, 
also.  And  now,  Mr.  Foreman,  is  William  How- 
ard, the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  arraigned  and  tried 
for  the  murder  of  Herbert  Lorimer,  Guilty  or  Not 
Guilty  f" 

"Gun. " 

"HoLn!"  echoed  a  voice  through  the  room,  as 
firm  and  sonorous  as  the  tones  of  a  steel  bell,  ar- 
ousing all  within  the  walls  from  a  trance  of  wrapt 
attention  to  the  words  of  the  foreman  of  the  jury, 
and  cutting  the  word  in  two  a.s  deftly  as  Fate  ever 
severed  the  mvstic  thread  of  human  existence.  All 
turned  their  eves  toward  the  prisoner,  who  had 
spoken,  and  who  now  stood,  with  one  hand  exten- 
ded, as  if  calling  attention,  and  the  fire  of  brilliant 
intelligence  and  genius  mantling  his  animated  and 


416  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

handsome  features.  His  position  was  as  graceful 
and  dignified  as  would  have  been  that  of  a  God  of 
mythology,  who  has  descended  from  Olympus  with 
the  destinies  of  nations  in  his  grasp,  and  all  felt  the 
change.  Before,  he  was  the  abject  criminal,  beg- 
ging his  life  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow  mortals, 
now  he  was  Nemesis,  the  personification  of  the  an- 
ger of  the  Gods.  Then  he  was  an  accused  mur- 
derer, now  a  denouncer  of  murderers. 

"I  know  not,"  he  began,  '• whether  the  fateful 
word  was  fully  spoken  and,  in  fact,  it  makes  but  a 
slight  difference  to  me.  I  have  had  the  curiosity 
to  know  whether  or  not  an  innocent  man  might  be 
convicted  of  crime.  The  question  is  now  fullv  an- 
swered. That  boasted  Palladium  of  protection  to 
the  innocent  has  proved  to  be  a  shield  of  gause — " 

"I  object,  most  decidedly  object,  vour  honor!" 
exclaimed  Gaylord. 

"I  insist,  sir,  I  insist,"  said  Stevens. 

Felton  smiled  serenely. 

"I  believe,  your  honor,"  said  the  prisoner,  turn- 
ing to  the  bench,  "that  by  your  laws,  an  accused 
person  may  be  heard  in  his  own  behalf,  as  well  as 
by  attorney." 

"It  is  extrajudicial,  but  you  may  proceed." 

"As  I  wasaboutto  say,"  continued  Howard,  "I 
care  but  little  whether  the  verdict  was  fully  pro- 
nounced or  not.  By  that  form  you  declare  Will- 
iam Howard  guilty  of  murder.  This  would  in  no 
way  aftect  me,  for  I  am  not  William  Howard  !  I 
am,"  andjie  seemed  more  majestic,  when  uttering 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  417 


the  words  in  tones  that  all  heard  ;  "my  name  and 
residence  is  Gilbert  Hays,  of  New  York." 

At  the  mention  of  this  then  well  known  name, 
there  was  a  hush  in  that  assembly,  so  profound  that 
the  falling  of  a  feather  from  the  wing  of  a  moult- 
ing bird  might  have  been  heard.  Soon  there  was 
a  shuffling  of  feet,  and  nearly  a  dozen  of  the  spec- 
tators began  to  edge  toward  the  entrance  ;  among 
them  the  priest  and  the  carter;  but  four  stalwart 
fellows  armed  with  policemen's  staves  stood  there. 
They  then  glanced  at  the  other  doors  and  windows, 
but  at  each  were  stationed  two  as  burley  and  well 
armed  men,  and  they  doggedly  took  their  seats.  A 
smile  of  utter  contempt  spread  over  the  handsome 
face  of  the  prisoner,  as  he  saw  this  demonstration 
of  the  caged  culprits. 

"I  am  a  son  of  him  long  known  as  'Old  Hays, 
the  Thief  Catcher,'  also  of  New  York.  Is  this  the 
truth,  Mr.  Felton  ?" 

"True  as  Gospel  !  You  are  my  old  schoolmate, 
Gil  Havs,"  replied  Felton,  smiling  serenely. 

"For  four  years  I  have  been  engaged,  especial- 
ly," the  speaker  resumed;  "in  the  duty  of  ferret- 
ting  out  the  authors  of  all  the  base  money  that  has 
been  thrown  into  circulation,  and  whose  cunning 
has  baffled  the  utmost  skill  of  the  best  American 
and  English  detectives,  imported  for  the  purpose, 
and  stimulated  by  great  wages  and  promises  of  al- 
most any  reward.  I  was  employed  for  this  task  four 
years  ago  last  January,  by  the  combined  interests 
of  all  the  banks  of  New  England  and  New  York. 


41 S  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Am  I  correcl  in  my  statement,  Hon.  Timothy  Gil- 
fillan,  chairman  of  the  Association  for  Mutual  Pro- 
tection, of  the  banks  of  New  York,  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania  ?" 

The  shorter  of  two  strangers,  sitting  close  at  the 
front  of  the  railing,  arose  and  bowed  to  the  judge. 

"And  Mr.  James  Starkweather,  holding  a  simi- 
lar position  in  the  like  association  for  the  banks  of 
New  England  ?" 

The  taller  of  them  arose  and  bowed,  also. 

"For  the  first  two  years  I  was  engaged  in  per- 
fecting myself  in  the  art  of  printing  bank  notes, 
and  in  the  study  of,  and  experiments  in  chemistry, 
for  which  purpose  1  have  travelled  in  many  foreign 
countries.  I,  after  great  labor  and  expense,  dis- 
covered a  metal  which  was  all  needful  in  counter- 
feit coin,  improving  its  weight,  ring  and  general 
appearance.  I  also  discovered  the  secret  of  making 
ordinary  printing  ink  strike  through  paper,  and  a 
way  of  cleaning  plates,  when  printing  bank  notes. 
These  secrets  I  have  already  sold  for  Five  Thous- 
and dollars,  and  you  will  pardon  me  if  for  puplic 
policy's  sake,  I  retain  them  from  that  public.  Dur- 
ing the  next  two  years  and  three  months  I  visited 
almost  every  city  and  town  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  patiently  following  every  possible  and 
impossible  clue;  burrowing  in  the  vilest  sinks  and 
slums  of  cities;  following'lone  travellers  to  out-of- 
the-way  places  on  mountains  arid  in  ravines ;  visi- 
ting sugar  orchards  and  charcoal-burners'  camps, 
in  as  mam  different  disguises  as  aie  months  in  a 


THE  COUXTEKFKITERS.  419 

year.  But  their  tracks  were  too  well  covered.  I 
followed  one  clue  to  New  Orleans,  another  to  Vera 
Cruz,  in  Mexico;  but  in  vain,  for  no  trace  of  them 
could  be  obtained. 

"On  the  24th  day  of  April,  last,  nearly  worn  out 
with  fatigue  and  desperation,  I  happened  to  be  in 
a  store  on  Hanover  street,  in  Boston  ;  and  there 
saw  a  man  purchasing  large  quantities  of  antimony 
in  bars.  I  marked  the  man,  dogged  him  to  his  ho- 
tel and  found  the  name  on  the  register.  It  was  a 
false  one,  and  I  had  wellnigh  lost  the  clue,  for  the 
boxes  containing  the  metal  were  addressed  to  the 
assumed  name  at  Providence,  R.  I.  ;  but,  by  mere 
chance  I  saw  him,  at  the  depot,  changing  the  di- 
rection to  'John  Heath,  Melas,  Vt.'  I  went  on  the 
same  train  that  carried  the  material,  I  was  sure  was 
destined  to  be  made  into  base  coin.  When  1  arriv- 
ed at  the  end  of  the  railroad,  for  a  bonus  of  One 
Hundred  dollars,  I  obtained  charge  of  the  team  in 
which  the  antimony  was  transported.  At  Melas  I 
again  encountered  Mr.  John  Heath,  your  deputy 
bailiff,  your  honor,  standing  yonder,"  and  he  poin- 
ted him  out. 

Heath  cast  an  uneasy  glance  over  his  shoulder, 
but  seeing  an  officer  at  his  elbow,  he  sunk  to  a  seat, 
covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  a  confessed  and 
detected  criminal. 

"I  delivered  the  freight  to  Mr.  Heath,"  resumed 
the  detective,  for  such  the  reader'already  recogni- 
zes him  to  be;  "and  shadowed  him  to  the  Copper 
Mountain.  Finding  that  stronghold  too  securely 


420  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

watched  and  guarded,  I  went  back,  a  few  miles  be- 
yond Melas,  took  the  stage  and  landed  at  Daniel 
Morrison's,  apparently  out  of  iruney,  and  for  sev- 
eral days  made  various  attempts  to  get  within  spy- 
ing distance  of  the  counterfeiters.  Foiled  in  this, 
I  let  mvself  to  Mr.  Morrison,  as  his  hostler  and  re- 
mained a  short  time  in  that  capacity,  and  there  I 
met  and  loved  the  faithful  woman,  who  has  since 
become  my  wife,  even  when  she  knew  me  only  as 
the  poor,  but  honest  hostler  and  miner,  but  accus- 
ed of  the  terrible  crime  of  murder,  your  honor." 

And  young  Havs  gazed  for  a  minute,  with  a  look 
of  affection  on  his  wife, -.and  resumed  : — 

"Soon  after  this  I  discovered  this  same  Heath  in 
the  very  thin  guise  of  a  vankee  peddler,  and  over- 
heard a  conversation  between  him  and  a  certain 
lawyer  Roberts,  in  which  the  latter,  who  was  jeal- 
ous of  me,  got  me  the  situation  I  aimed  at;  and 
he  little  thought,  when  he  paid  for  the  liquor  used 
to  bind  the  bargain,  and  I  put  the  counterfeit  coin 
in  my  pocket  and  not  the  till,  that  instead  of  steal- 
ing my  employer's  money,  as  the  twinkle  of  his  eye 
told  me  he  supposed  I  had  done,  I  was  only  piling 
up  evidence  of  his  connection  with  the  forgers  and 
counterfeiters  I  was  hunting  down." 

A  deep  groan  from  the  utterly  prostrated  Heath. 
here  interrupted  the  speaker,  but  he  continued  : — 

"In  that  conversation,  lawyer  Roberts,  it  w.is 
arranged,  should  go  to  Boston  with  the  Southbridge 
Batik  counterfeit.  He  went  anu,  though  too  late 
to  prevent  the  issue  of  the  bills,  my  letter  reached 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  chief  of  Police  in  season  to  ensure  the  capture 
of  the  lawyer,  with  sufficient  bad  money  upon  his 
person  to  warrant  his  detention,  together  witli  sev- 
eral of  his  agents. 

"Safely  within  the  lines  of  the  Stone  House  in 
the  Pass,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  pursuing  my  in- 
vestigations;  but  not  to  the  extent  to  which  I  could 
wish,  and  I  was  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  some 
plan  by  which  I  could  get  into  the  manager's  con- 
fidence, for,  for  some  time,  I  was  compelled  to  la- 
bor in  the  mines.  At  last  an  opportunity  ottered, 
and  by  doing  William  Pruyter  a  valuable  service, 
he  not  only  gave  me  money,  but  a  chance  to  pro- 
pose the  sale  of  my  skill,  before  referred  to.  1  suc- 
ceeded in  my  aim,  and  was  admitted  to  the  san£t- 
um  sanctorum  of  the  counterfeiters.  Judge  of  my 
surprise,  when,  in  the  guise  of  the  -gentlemanly 
stranger,'  I  had  heard  spoken  of,  I  discovered  an 
old  acquaintance  ;  or  rather,  one  whom  I  had  shad- 
owed and  brought  to  justice  some  years  before,  at 
the  age  of  fifteen,  when  I  first  began  my  present 
career,  the  most  expert  engraver,  counterfeiter, 
burglar,  thief  and  bad  man  generally  that  ever  ex- 
isted, Jim  Thompson,  of  whom  yon,  no  doubt,  ere 
this  have  heard.  I  was  fearful  that  he  would  rec- 
ognize me,  but  he  did  not,  and  I  was  safe. 

••The  old  rascal,  like  the  rat  he  is,  seeing  that 
the  ship  of  Copper  Mountain  was  about  to  sink, 
deserted  it  some  time  since.  I  detected  his  absence 
in  ample  season,  and  sent  word  to  New  York,  and 
my. father  met  him  at  the  train,  captured  him  and 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^^, ^^r*^-^-^*-, ^x-s^-*-*-^->-^_^^^, 

he  awaits  my  coming  to  receive  another  term  in 
Sing  Sing  State's  Prison,  meanwhile  meditating  on 
the  liability  to  change  of  all  sublunary  affairs,  with- 
in the  classic  walls  of  the  'Tombs.'  " 

At  this  point  thj  speaker  was  disturbed  by  an  ef- 
fort on  the  part  of  lawyer  Stevens  and  justice  D 

to  leave  the  room,  but  the  guardians  at  the  portal 
were  inexorable,  and  they  were  obliged  to  return, 
with  many  protestations  and  threats.  At  the  fail- 
ing of  his  brother,  Mr.  Felton  smiled  serenely. 

"Soon  after  my  initiation  to  the  highest  degree 
of  counterfeiting,  I  began  to  investigate  the  case  of 
Miss  Helen  Leonard.  I  soon  discovered  that  all 
the  papers  purporting  to  having  been  given  by  Ar- 
thur Leonard,  her  father,  to  William  Pruyter  were 
forgeries.  That,  instead  of  having  sold  and  rec- 
eived pay  for  the  property,  the  whole  yet  belonged 
to  Mr.  Leonard's  heirs  and  the  old  man,  Pruvter, 
was  also  indebted  to  a  large  amount  to  them.  This 
for  a  season,  seemed  to  be  the  reason  of  his  close 
custody  of  the  young  lady,  and  I  thought  that  mat- 
ter easily  arranged,  but  when,  sometime  afterward 
I  learned  that  Pruyter  had  attempted  to  poison  her, 
I  began  to  think  there  was  more  in  it,  and  I  con- 
tinued my  investigation.  I  soon  found  that  Miss 
Leonard  had,  in  a  freak  of  girlish  curiosity,  dis- 
covered the  secret  of  the  stone  house,  and  that  he 
was  afraid  she  would  disclose  it,  and  he  intended 
to  prevent  it  by  close  watch  and  ward.  This  soon 
led  to  the  more  horrible  crime " 

The  speaker's  next  few  words  were  drowned  by 


THE  COtTNTEKFEITERS.  423 

the  sharp  report  of  a  pistol  in  the  hand  of  the  cath- 
olic priest.  The  aim  was  good,  but  Bailiff"  Rog- 
ers, sat  near  him,  and  saw  the-  action  just  quick 
enough  to  divert  the  deadly  tube  from  its  position, 
but  not  so  much  but  that  the  bullet  slightly  abrad- 
ed the  skin  on  one  of  Hays'  ears.  The  room  was 
in  an  uproar  in  an  instant.  Women  screamed  and 
men  turned  pale,  but  Rogers  calmed  the  tumult  in 
a  moment,  by  snapping  a  set  of  handcuffs  on  the 
offender's  wrists.  Young  Hays  quietly  applied  his 
handkerchief  to  the  injured  part,  where  a  small 
drop  of  blood  had  oozed  to  the  surface,  as  he  would 
have  applied  it  the  bite  of  a  gnat  that  had  stung 
him,  and  with  no  other  emotion  than  the  insect 
would  have  produced,  continued  : — 

"About  this  time  I  first  learned  that  Justice  D — 
was  one  of  the  gang." 

"Me,  sir,  me,  Mr.  How-hard?"  wheezed  the 
surprised  magistrate,  rising  to  his  feet. 

"I  heard  that  Mr.  Herbert  Lorimer  was  about  to 
make  a  search,  on  a  Hebeas  Corpus  writ  for  Miss 
Leonard,  when  the  chief  of  the  gang  received  a 
letter,  warning  him  of  the  contemplated  affair,  by 

the  hands  of  Justice  D 's  man.  Mr.  Pruyter 

forced  the  poor  girl,  fora  time,  into  the  magazine 
or  powder-room,  where  she  was  compelled  to  re- 
main in  darkness,  until  the  search  was  finished  and 
the  officers  gone." 

"A  letter  from  me,  Mr.  Ah,  Mr.  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  replied  Hays;  "I  have  it  here,  with 
another  .subsequently  written,  warning  him  that  a 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

complaint  was  entered  against  him  lor  counterfeit- 
ing; and  they  are  wrapped  around  a  few  dollars 
in  counterfeit  money  that  you  paid  me  as  witness 
fees.  You  were  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle,  sir." 

The  magistrate  was  squelched,  and  looking  over 
his  shoulder,  he  saw  an  officer  at  his  elbow. 

"Your  honor,  your  honor,*'  exclaimed  Stevens; 
-'cannot  this  wholesale  slander  be  stopped?" 

"I  also  have  here  a  ten  dollar  note,  a  counterfeit, 
paid  to  me  by  this  same  Stevens,  who  has  been  so 
anxious  to  see  me  convicted  of  murder,  and  is  so 
anxious  to  stop  mv  tongue  now,  which  he  gave  me 
to  testify  that  Helen  Leonard  was  insane.  I  agreed, 
only  stipulating  that  I  should  not  be  sworn.  I  did 
as  he  hired  me  to  do  for,  poor  girl,  I  could  do  her 
no  harm,  and  would  be  forging  chains  for  another 
of  William  Pruyter's  crew  of  counterfeiters.  I 

could  do  her  no  harm,  as  I  said,  for  Justice  D 

had  promised  Pruyter  she  should  be  pronounced 
a  lunatic,  whatever  might  be  the  testimony, — and 
in  my  hearing,  too." 

Lawyer  Stevens  found  an  officer  at  his  elbow  too 
and  was  not  obliged  to  look  over  his  shoulder  to 
see  him  ;  and  attorney  Felton  smiled  serenely.  He 
didn't  like  Stevens. 

By  this  time  there  was  an  intense  state  of  excite- 
ment in  the  court  room.  Taken  as  much  by  sur- 
prise as  they  would  have  been  had  a  bomb  lighted 
suddenly  in  their  midst,  the  unprecedented  pro- 
ceedings instituted  had  involved  them  in  a  maze  of 
surprise  and  consternation,  and  all  but  those  in  the 


THE  COUN'TEKFEITERS. 


plot,  had  remained,  for  a  season,  in  a  measure, 
stunned  by  the  rapidly  evolving  denunciations  and 
exposu-es  that,  like  the  quickly  shifting  scenes  in 
a  diorama,  were  so  unexpectedly  thrust  upon  their 
startled  view.  They  had  heard  the  whole,  vet  ap- 
peared scarcely  to  comprehend  the  full  extent  of 
the  mighty  interests  involved  in  the  speaker's  har- 
rangue.  Not  one  in  that  assemblage  had  dreamed 
of  the  depth  of  villany  that  had  been,  for  years, 
festering  in  their  midst.  They  had  heard  and  read 
of  such  things  as  occurring  far  oft',  but  now,  crime 
and  rascality  were  rampant  near  their  own  doors ; 
and  above  all,  those  who  had  stood  high  in  society, 
perched  on  the  seeming  pedestal  of  rectitude,  were 
hurled,  one  after  the  other,  into  the  dust.  Men  in 
whom  they  had  ever  put  the  firmest  trust,  as  men 
of  probity  and  honor,  were  now  having  their  masks 
of  hypocricv  torn  off.  and,  ail  their  naked  deformi- 
ty of  sin  and  depravity  fully  exposed  to  the  public 
view,  as  removing  the  gilding  from  some  daily 
used  utensil,  shows  the  rusty,  corrugated  iron  be- 
neath. 

As  name  after  name  was  pronounced,  in  that 
fearful  roll-call  of  judgement,  each  man  began  to 
suspect  his  neighbor,  even  his  brother,  and  they 
gazed  horrorstruck,  in  each  other's  faces,  as  it  is 
said  they  did,  when  the  plague  was  rioting  over  the 
land,  long  ago,  watching  and  fearing  the  appear- 
ing of  the  plague-spot  there;  the  death-mark  im- 
presset;  iv  the  searing  finger  of  the  fell  disease, 
expecting,  each  moment,  nearer  and  more  familiar 


426  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

names  would  be  declaimed  by  the  Nemesis.  The 
voice  of  the  young  man,  though  rather  lower  than 
the  usual  tones  of  men  in  his  position,  filled  every 
hair's  breadth  of  the  room,  and  vibrated  painful  Iv 
on  the  ears  of  every  person  present;  not  from  its 
loudness,  for  it  was  not  loud ;  nor  from  its  harsh- 
ness, for  it  was  smooth  and  mellow  and  unimpass- 
ionedasthe  voice  of  the  most  silvery  spoken  pulpit 
orator,  but  because  every  word  was  a  winged  ar- 
row, tipped  with  fire,  the  still  voice  of  the  light- 
ning that  kills  ere  the  hoarse  thunder  is  heard, 

For  a  short  space,  prompted  bv  his  desire  for 
propriety,  his  wish  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  the 
law,  the  majestic  influence  of  its  execution.  Judge 
Flemming  mentallv  remonstrated  against  the  inno- 
vation. But  he  was  really  an  honest  man,  sensible 
too  and,  above  all  things  else,  desired  that  crime 
of  all  kinds  should  be  exposed  and  punished,  and 
seeming  to  gather  some  inkling  of  what  was  com- 
ing, he  resolved  to  let  events  take  their  course  with- 
out hindrance  or  obstruction  from  himself.  And 
he  admired  the  courage  and  pertinacity  of  the  man. 
who  had  dared  and  had  accomplished  so  much. 
There  was  romance  in  it  too,  that  stirred  his  not 
yet  fully  stagnated  blood,  and  his  cheek  glowed, 
and  his  eye  glistened  with  admiration,  as  the  tale 
went  on.  A  few  whispered  words  in  his  ear,  bv 
Bailiff  Rogers,  on  their  going  from  the  hotel  to  the 
court-house,  that  morning,  had  partially  prepared 
the  worthy  chief-justice  for  some  of  the  events  to 
transpire,  but  scarcely  for  the  full  height  and  depth 


THE  COrVTEKFKITERS.  427 

of  iniquity  thai  were  opening  before  him.  In  this 
case  he  thought  the  end  justified  the  means,  and, 
though  the  dignity  of  wig  and  gown  was  sorely 
tarnished  bv  the  course  pursued,  the  great  cause 
of  justice  was  being  forwarded,  though  not  in  the 
manner  he  would  have  exactly  chosen,  could  he 
have  managed,  was  content,  as;  before  said,  to.  let 
matters  take  their  own  unimpeded  course. 

Bailiff  Rogers  had,  late  on  the  night  before,  been 
taken  into  the  confidence  of  the  plotters,  and  had 
made  all  his  arrangements  for  the  denottement  with 
so  much  dispatch  and  secrecy  that,  when  the  court 
went  in,  in  the  morning,  his  extra  force  of  special 
and  regular  police  had  been  organized,  received 
their  instructions  and  were  on  hand,  without  dis- 
covery or  suspicion,  even  on  the  part  of  the  doom* 
ed  wretches  who  were  to  be  the  victims  of  the  plot. 
And  no  greater  admirer  of  the  young  detective  and 
his  attorney,  could  have  been  found  than  Rogers. 
•He  admired  the  pluck  that  would  allow  its  posses- 
sorto  endure  obloquy  and  shame,  risk  liberty,  life, 
friendship  and  love,  in  the  cause  he  had  determined 
to  carry  out  to  its  fullest  extent.  In  no  other  place, 
and  at  no  other  time  than  the  court-room,  and  dur- 
ing his  trial  for  murder,  that  would  call  so  many 
together,  could  have  been  selected,  when  a  trap 
could  have  been  set  in  which  everv  one  of  the  crim- 
inals would  be  caught ;  and  though  no  mean  de- 
tective himself,  considering  his  experience  and  op- 
portunities, he  looked  with  quite  an  awe  on  those 
younger  in  vears,  but  far  older  in  genius  than  was 


428  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

himself,  in  his  own  line,  the  first  principles  or  al- 
phabet of  which  he  had  yet  to  learn.  And  he  had 
entered  into  the  scheme  with  his  full  soul,  content 
to  play  a  minor  part  where,  from  from  his  position 
and  his  really  good  abilities,  and  above  all,  his 
sterling  honesty  entitled  him  to  take  the  first. 

Noon  had  come  and  was  slowly  passing,  yet  not 
a  soul  wished  to  move,  save  those  whose  names 
had  been  called,  or  those  who  must  know  that  their 
turn  had  not  yet,  but  surely  must,  come  ;  so  deep- 
ly were  all  intent  on  hearing  the  whole  story  told. 

"For  proof  of  manv  of  the  matters  I  am  about 
to  relate,"  continued  the  low,  incisive  voice  "I  had 
intended  to  appeal  to  lips  now,  alas,  stiff  in  death  ; 
and  shrouded  in  the  cold,  dark  waters  of  an  aban- 
doned mine  in  Copper  Mountain.  I  had  had  in- 
timations of  the  plotting  of  the  great  crime  that 
deprived  her  of  her  life,  but  fate  had  decreed  that  I 
should  not  avert  the  sacrifice.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
gang  the  sentence  of  death  had  been  pronounced- 
against  Helen  Leonard  ;  but  as  Samuel  Pruyter  was 
begging  for  delay,  that  he  might  make  her  his  wife, 
in  my  multiplicity  of  other  duties,  I  had  supposed 
the  death-blow  would  be  longer  delayed,  watching 
not  the  destroyer  as  closely  as  I  should,  had  mv 
mind  been  relieved  of  more  pressing  studies. 

"A  woman  had  been  occasionally  making  her  ap- 
pearance in  and  about  the  ravine;  and  had  been 
discovered  only  by  myself.  She  proved  to  be  the 
firht  wife  of  William  Printer,  who  had  been  con- 
fined in  a  mad-house,  and  had  lately  escaped.  She 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  429 

was  evidently  a  maniac,  for  her  extreme  cunning 
could  not  be  otherwise  accounted  for.  She  had 
constituted  herself  Miss  Leonard's  especial  guard- 
ian, and  promised  to  protect  her  at  all  hazards.  It 
seems  that  the  heirs  and  administrators  of  Arthur 
Leonard's  estate  were  making  some  pretty  close 
questionings  into  the  accounts  of  Pruyter,  and,  by 
a  bold  plan  he  checkmated  the  whole  matter,  by 
procuring  a  judgement  of  lunacy  against  her,  from 

the  hands  of  this  same  immaculate  Justice  D , 

confining  her,  and  afterwards  proving  her  death, 
by  taking  her  away,  and,  your  honor,  I  know  I  am 
telling  you  an  almost  incredible  story,  by  stealing 
from  the  Steadville  cemetery  the  corpse  of  Justice 

D 's  daughter,  who  had  lately  died,  fitting  to  it 

the  clothes  of  Mrs.  Pruyter,  disfiguring  her  face, 
casting  her  into  the  lake  and.  after  a  season,  find- 
ing her  and  burying  her  as  the  departed  form  of  the 
poor,  demented,  much  abused  wife  of  the  great 
rascal.  Do  you  want  proof  of  this?  Go  to  the 
fifth  grave,  in  the  third  row  from  the  path,  on  the 
left  side,  and  there  you  will  find  an  empty  coffin. 
Is  this  true,  John  O'Brien?" 

A  gray  haired  Irishman  arose  in  the  seats,  bow- 
ed and  said  :  "Yis,  yer  honor,  an'  God  forgive  me." 

A  low  groan  was  heard  from  the  magistrate  men- 
tioned, and  indistinct  murmurs  were  heard  in  every 
part  of  the  room.  There  was  a  fierce  storm  of  in- 
dignation rapidly  rising. 

"He  married  Arthur  Leonard's  widow,  and  all 
questionings  ceased,  but  Helen  was  thus  deprived 


430  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

of  her  patrimony  and  become  a  pensioner  on  her 
guardian's  bounty.  Mrs.  Pniyter  h:iJ  been  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  Miss  Leonard  in  her  room,  having 
in  some  unaccountable  manner,  discovered  a  way 
of  opening  the  window,  unknown  to  any  but  her- 
self. On  the  night  of  the  murder,  your  honor,  for 
it  is  of  a  murder  I  have  come  to  speak,  she  spent 
some  time  with  her  and,  at  a  late  hour,  a  sound 
was  heard,  near  the  door,  startling  the  inmates. — 
Hours  after,  William  Pruyter  entered  the  room,  ac- 
companied by  his  son,  and  plunged  a  dagger  to 
the  heart  of  the  sleeper.  They  then  carried  her 
body  to  the  deserted  mine,  affixed  weights  and  sunk 
it  many  feet  deep.  And  thus  William  Pruyter  be- 
came the  murderer  of  his  wife,  and  Samuel  Pruv- 
ter  an  accomplice  in  the  slaughter  of  his  mother. 
Is  this  so,  Maggie  O'Brien  ?" 

"The  Blissed  Virgin  intercade  for  me,  vis,"  re- 
plied that  now  fully  repentant  woman.  "Indade, 
Oi  seen  thim  rowl  the  poor  leddy  into  the  black 
wathers  av  the  ould  mine." 

"Helen  Leonard  escaped,"  resumed  the  inexor- 
able voice,  "for,  at  the  last  moment,  Mrs.  Pruvter 
had  forced  her  from  the  room,  and  taken  her  place. 
Reaching  Steadville,  Miss  Leonard,  made  formal 
complaint  to  Justice  Shepard,  against  William  and 
Samuel  Pruyter,  myself  and  others  as  counterfeit- 
ers, but  the  law  was  easily  hoodwinked,  for  Ju^ice 

D sent  a  man,  post  haste,  with  the  news,  and 

when  my  friend,  Mr.  Rogers,  made  his  appearance, 
matters  were  ready.  Is  this  so,  Helen  Leonard  :" 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


And  the  veiled  companion  of  the  young  detect  - 
tive's  wife  arose,  threw  back  her  veil,  exhibiting 
the  features  of  the  lady  named,  and  bowed  grace- 
fully to  Judge  Flemming. 

The  reader  may  well  imagine  the  profoundness 
of  the  sensation  that  was  produced  by  these  ast- 
ounding revellations.  As  before,  the  assemblage 
rubbed  their  eyes  and  looked  around  in  bewilder- 
ment, as  if  not  fully  assured  of  their  identity,  or 
that  they  were  really  awake.  Again  the  murmurs 
began  to  be  heard  and  once  a  threat  was  to  be  distin- 
guished above  the  other  sounds;  and  had  William 
Pruyter  been  present  and  recognized,  there  would 
without  doubt,  have  been  enacted  a  deed  for  which 
the  participants  would,  for  many  years  thereafter, 
have  shuddered.  As  it  was,  several  threatening 
glances  were  cast  toward  the  men  who  hadalreadv 
been  arrested,  but  not  removed  from  the  room,  as 
if  they  were  seeking  some  object  on  which  to  ex- 
pend their  pent  up  indignation.  Seeing  this,  as 
well  as  the  troubled  expression  of  the  Judge's  face, 
and  anxious  that  no  such  demonstration  should  be 
made,  young  Havs,  slightly  changing  the  subject, 
continued,  the  incipient  tumult  instantly  subsiding 
when  his  voice  was.  heard,  and  the  most  profound 
silence  reigning,  while  he  spoke  : — 

"The  modus  opperanditf  hiding  all  evidence  of 
their  main  business  is  as  follows:  The  floor  of  the 
main  room  of  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass  is  con- 
structed of  maple  planks,  three  inches  in  thickness, 
laid  upon  sleepers,  resting  almost  their  full  length, 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

^s-^'—^-r*^ ~w^x-^-^-^^~-^^^-'->. 

upon  the  solid  rock  of  the  foundation.  This  plank- 
ing is  covered  with  ordinary  spruce  boards,  and 
makes  a  substructure  capable  of  sustaining  almost 
any  weight  without  being  crushed.  Immediately 
back  of  this  room — perhaps,"  he  said,  turning  to 
the  judge;  "your  clerk  had  better  take  down  my 
words,  that  anv  further  expeditions  of  friend  Rog- 
ers mav  meet  with  better  success  than  did  the  two 
preceding  his  last  afford  him.  Immediately  back 
of  this  room,  or  on  the  west  side,  is  what  to  all 
appearance,  is  a  blank  wall,  plastered  but  not  pa- 
pered. By  measuring  accurately  from  the  right- 
hand  corner  of  the  room,  when  you  face  the  west, 
a  distance  of  three  feet,  one  and  one-half  inches, 
and  exacllv  two  feet  and  six  inches  from  the  floor, 
there  may  be  found,  at  the  junction,  what  seems  to 
be  a  small  pebble  in  the  mortar.  By  pressing  on 
this  with  the  thumb,  a  small  portion  of  the  wall, 
some  foot  away,  will  open,  disclosing  an  iron  plate. 
At  one  corner  of  this  plate  is  a  smallish  hole,  into 
which,  by  inserting  a  small  but  stiff'  wire — a  knit- 
ting needle  will  do — the  plate  can  be  removed,  on 
a  hinge,  and  you  will  there  find  a  keyhole.  By  in- 
serting this  key,"  and  he  handed  one  to  the  Judge, 
"anil  turning  toward  the  right  hand,  once,  and 
then  forcing  it  in,  nearly  its  entire  length,  turning 
it  twice  in  a  contrary  direction,  a  large  door  will 
open  and  disclose  a  large,  artificial  cavern." 

"I  have  it  all  written  down.  Mr.  Havs."  said  the 
clerk,  perceiving  that  the  speaker  paused. 

"Within  this    chamber,"  resumed    Hays,  "may 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  433 

be  found  two  large  coining  presses,  a  powerful  die 
sinking  machine,  a  copperplate  printing  press  and 
a  portable  forge,  all  upon  small  but  broad  trucks, 
on  which  they  are  moved  to  and  from  the  work- 
room. You  will  also  find  upon  examination,  sev- 
eral plates  for  bank  bills  already  completed,  several 
in  process  of  manufacture;  at  least  a  peck  of  dies 
of  American  eighths,  quarters,  halves  and  dollars, 
and  of  half  eagles.  You  will  also  find  several  dies 
of  different  dates  all  complete,  of  English  sover- 
eigns, from  1824  to  1831  ;  also  large  quantities  of 
bill-paper,  ink-rollers,  &c.  ;  and  about  a  ton  in 
weight  of  an  amalgam  in  bars,  resembling  gold. 
In  one  corner  you  will  find  several  kegs,  containing 
sovereigns  already  coined  from  this  mixture.  This 
is  the  beginning  of  an  immense  scheme  that,  in  one 
vear's  time  would  have  flooded  the  entire  civilized 
world  with  a  half  million  of  a  dangerous  counter- 
feit, representing  over  two  millions  of  dollars,  and 
then  all  evidence  would  have  been  sunk  in  the  lake, 
the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass  abandoned,  and  none 
would  have  been  the  wiser." 

"If  this  is  all  true,  Mr.  Hays,"  said  the  Judge; 
'•and  I  certainlv  have  no  reason  to,  nor  do  I  doubt 
your-  word,  you  have  earned  a  reward  that  will 
make  you  a  wealthy  man." 

"And  for  the  reward  offered  bv  your  government, 
as  well  as  those  by  different  associations  on  out  side 
of  the  line,"  said  Havs,  "1  have  labored,  but  not  so 
eagerlv  as  I  have  for  the  public  good,  and  for  a  re- 
putation that  I  believe  was  no  mean  one,  before  I 


434  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

entered  into  thisenterprize,  great  as  it  has  proved. 
I  have  received  a  portion  of  my  compensation,  al- 
readv,  your  honor,  in  advance,  in  the  prompt  and 
hearty  support  and  encouragement  of  my  many 
and  faithful  friends,  the  uniform  leniency  and  con- 
sideration of  yourself  and  assistants,  and,"  he  said, 
casting  a  proud  and  loving  look  upon  his  wife, — 
the  greatest  of  all  rewards,  a  faithful  woman  ;  but 
yet  I  am  an  accused  murderer,  with  shackles  upon 
my  limbs,  arraigned  for  trial  for  my  existence,  be- 
fore your  honor." 

"You  mav  remove  the  irons  from  the  prisoner, 
for  the  present,  Mr.  Rogers,"  said  the  Judge,  good 
naluredly  taking  the  hint ;  "but  you  may  leave  one 
of  your  deputies  in  charge  of  him.  A  precaution, 
Mr.  Hays,  that  my  duty  compels  me  to  adopt,  un- 
der the  circumstances." 

"And  to  which  I  have  no  reason  or  wish  to  ob- 
ject, your  honor,"  remarked  Hays,  while  the  irons 
were  being  unlocked,  which  done,  he  arose  to  his 
feet  and  continued :  k*A  line  of  sworn  sentinels, 
soul  and  body  the  property  of  the  Fruyters,  guard- 
ed every  avenue  of  approach  to  the  building,  and 
certain  signals  were  agreed  on,  by  which  notice  of 
any  approaching  stranger  was  conveyed  to  the  oc- 
cupants of  the  house,  when  means  would  be  inst- 
antly taken  to  remove  every  vestige  of  the  business 
from  sight.  These,  with  such  agents  as  Deputy 
Heath  and  Tom  Finch  patrolling  the  neighborhood, 

of  Justice  D ,  who    would    learn    if  any  legal 

proceedings  were  to  be  instituted,  and  send  instant 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  435 

warning;  of  lawyer  Stevens,  incessantly  prying 
into  everybody's  affairs ;  of  our  learned  Dr.  Mar- 
tin, having  an  office  over  Justice  Shepard's  room, 
with  a  hole  for  a  stovepipe  at  which  he  might  lis- 
ten, and  a  cunning  of  which  the  devil  might  be 
proud,  to  back  and  manage  the  whole,  they  con- 
sidered themselves  safe  from  disturbance ;  and  ser- 
ved by  men  who  were  not  only  sworn  but  watched 
in  every  a<St  and  movement,  at  Lome  and  abroad, 
and  the  ostensible  business  of  mining,  seemed  good 
precaution  against  betraval  or  suspicion. 

"But,  your  honor,  prompted  by  successes  in  an 
unlimited  and  long  continued  career  of  crime,  in 
an  evil  hour  for  him,  the  avaricious  cravings  of  a 
depraved  nature  would  rob  a  poor  girl  of  her  right- 
ful inheritance,  and  in  revenge,  she  discovered  the 
desperately  guarded  secret  of  their  iniquity,  and, 
though  passing  throligh  dangers  and  alarms  but  few 
would  endure  and  live,  and  only  saved  at  last  by  the 
self-sacrifice  of  a  noble,  though  insane  woman  who 
took  her  place  receiving  the  assassin's  dagger  in  her 
breast  that  was  intended  for  that  of  her  charge,  she 
vet  lives  to  witness  the  downfall  of  all  who  were 
her  enemies  before." 

At  this  period  the  court  was  adjourned  for  din- 
ner, and  to  the  surprise  of  many  anxious  ones,  de- 
parted and  reassembled  without  demonstrations  of 
disorder. 


436  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

ANOTHER    VERDICT. 

ND  now,  your  honor,"  continued  the  de- 
te&ive,  when  the  room  had  quieted  down, 
"having  givei.  to  Bailiff'  Rogers  the  names 
of  the  minor  villains  in  our  drama,  it  only 
remains  for  me  to  recount  the  incidents  of  one 
other  transaction,  and  that  is  the  murder  of  Captain 
Herbert  Lorimer. 

"Soon  after  selling  to  William  Pruyter  the  sec- 
rets of  the  trade,  1  began  to  perceive  that  he  was 
afraid  of  me.  For  a  time,  I  feared  that,  in  some 
way,  my  identity  and  business  had  been  discovered  ; 
that  perhaps  Thompson  had  recogni/ed  me,  at  last, 
and  put  the  old  schemer  on  his  guard ;  but  I  soon 
became  satisfied  that  such  was  not  the  case  ;  and 
that  having  got  all  he  could,  or  was  likely  to,  from 
me,  he  wished  to  get  rid  of  me,  chosing  rather  to 
trust  other  styles  of  men.  To  turn  me  away  with- 
out cause,  he  dared  not,  fearing  exposure,  and  to 
cut  my  throat,  he  did  not  wish,  since  I  had  saved 
his  life.  Lorimer  was  a  thorn  in  his  side,  and  the 
idea  entered  his  mind  to  dispose  of  us  both  by  the 
same  act.  In  furtherance  of  this  he  trumped  up 
a  story  with  which  I  was  well  acquainted,  in  re- 
gard to  the  contemplated  marriage  of  Capt.  Blake 
and  Miss  Carpenter,  and  applied  it  to  Capt.  Lori- 
mer and  Elsie  Morrison,  now  my  wife.  I  had  seen 
Miss  Morrison,  that  very  evening,  and  knew  that 
S!K-  was  as  ever  true  as  steel. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


"Knowing  that  old  Pruyter  expected  some  such 
thing,  when  he  commenced  his  operations,  and  be- 
ing something  of  an  actor,  I  simulated  great  anger 
and  said  something  that  has  been  tortured  into  a 
threat.  I  did  this,  first,  to  give  me  time  to  think  ; 
secondly,  to  disarm  the  old  man  of  suspicions  that 
would  have  been  aroused  had  I  shown  an  indiffer- 
ence to  his  tale,  little  knowing  to  what  bloody  re- 
sults my  course  was  leading.  Finding  that  my  an- 
ger had  been  expended  in  words  instead  of  actions, 
Pruvter  wrote  the  letter,  produced  here,  in  court, 
counterfeiting  my  writing  and  forging  my  name. 
In  proof  I  have  here  the  original  draft  of  the  letter 
in  his  own  hand  writing,  and  with  it  a  sheet,  on 
which  he  practiced  my  chirography.  The  draft, 
von  will  see,  is  erased  and  interlined,  and,  as  fin- 
ished, was  copied  as  in  the  produced  letter;"  then 
turning  suddenly  toward  the  priest  who  had  shot  at 
him,  he  quickly  exclaimed  :  "Dare  you  deny  the 
truth  of  this,  William  Pruyter?" 

The  priest  started  as  if  struck  bv  a  bullet,  and  at 
the  same  time  Rogers  pulled  the  cowl  from  his 
head  and  exposed  the  marked  feature*  of  the  King 
of  the  Counterfeiters. 

He  seemed  to  be  in  a  sort  of  stupor,  as  evidenc- 
ed by  his  face  and  actions,  for  in  answer  to  the  de- 
tective's question  he  muttered  only  some  inarticu- 
late words,  and  again  sunk  his  head  on  his  breast, 
as  it  had  been  before. 

"I  say,  dare  you  deny  this,  William  Pruyter,  or 
William,  Baron  of  Meredith,  as  is  vour  name  and 


438  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

title  since  the  death,  without  issue,  of  your  elder 
brother,  the  former  baron,  five  weeks  ago,  as  re- 
corded in  yesterday's  Montreal  Gazette?" 

Still  there  was  no  reply,  and  Hays  resumed  : — 

"He  then  sent  me,  on  some  trivial  errand,  to 
Steadville,  soon  followed,  gave  the  letter  to  Doctor 
Martin,  with  a  request  that  he  would  get  me  to 
hand  it  to  the  bov,  giving  as  an  excuse,  that  he  had 
only  his  slippers  on  his  feet,  and  did  not  wish  to 
get  them  wet.  Is  this  true,  Esquire  Shepard  ?" 

The  worthy  Justice  arose  and  bowed. 

"Justice  Shepard  happened  to  overhear  the  con- 
versation, showing  that  sound  will  sometimes  pass 
down  as  well  as  up,  and  that  the  vehicle  of  words 
may  serve  the  cause  of  justice  as  well  as  of  rascal- 
ity. Passing  the  doctor's  office,  a  few  moments 
later,  at  Mr.  Pruyter's  request,  the  letter  was  trans- 
ferred by  my  hand,  from  that  of  Dr.  Martin,  to  the 
boy,  Wilson,  according  to  programme.  Is  all  this 
true,  Mr.  Staples,  as  I  have  related  it?" 

Mr.  Staples  arose  and  bowed. 

"And  thus,  your  honor,"  said  Hays,  "was  the 
letter  appointing  the  fatal  meeting  written  and  for- 
warded to  its  destination,  with  very  much  the  ap- 
pearance that  I  sent  as  well  as  wrote  it.  The  next 
plan  was  to  induce  me  to  meet  Captain  Lorimer  at 
the  bridge,  trusting  that  the  enmity  we  were  sup- 
posed to  bear  each  other  would  lead  to  a  collision, 
in  which,  if  death  to  one  or  the  other  did  not  fol- 
low, a  rencounter  would  result,  that  must  drive  us 
to  fly  from  the  officers,  and  thus  he  would  get  rid 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  439 

of  one  or  both.  To  draw  me  into  the  snare,  Wil- 
liam Pruyter  informed  me  that  Lorimer  had  insis- 
ted upon  a  marriage  in  Canada,  and  that  he  and 
his  newly  made  wife  would  return  that  way  from 
where  the  ceremony  was  performed.  Though  I 
was  well  aware  that  they  wanted  me  to  kill  him,  I 
little  supposed  they  were  determined  to  butcher 
him  at  that  time  and  place.  But  contrary  to  their 
expectations,  I  was  not  so  plastic  in  their  hands  as 
they  had  been  led  to  hope,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  fall  back  on  the  plan  they  bad  adopted,  in  case 
I  failed  to  take  the  job  from  them,  which  was  for 
Samuel  Pruyter,  who  is  nearly  my  size  and  shape, 
to  put  on  a  suit  of  my  clothes  and  meet  him,  and, 
in  short,  murder  him,  hoping  that  I  should  be  con- 
victed of  the  crime,  from  the  letter  and  such  other 
like  threads  of  the  net  that  their  devilish  ingenuity 
had  so  skillfully  woven  around  me,  thus  ridding 
themselves,  by  one  stroke  of  the  dagger,  of  both. 
"Unfortunately,  for  them,  Captain  Lorimer  was 
a  man  who  did  not  choose  to  die,  without  showing 
a  proper  resentment  against  his  assassin,  and,  tho' 
wounded  unto  death,  weak  and  bewildered  by  the 
scoundrelly  and  unexpected  attack,  he  drew  a  pis- 
tol and  put  a  bullet  through  the  hand  of  his  assail- 
ant. Here  was  a  bad  state  of  affairs,  and  mv  hand 
must  be  wounded,  in  some  way,  to  make  assurance 
doubly  sure.  But  the  infernal  cunning  of  the  arch- 
schemer  here  came  in  play.  My  lamp  was  carried 
to  my  room,  a  knife,  half  open  and  lying  upon  its 
back,  thus  bringing  the  point  of  the  blade  directly 


440  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

upward,  was  placed  on  my  table  close  to  the  match 
safe,  and  a  couple  of  chairs  so  located  that  groping 
in  the  darkness,  with  hand  extended,  I  could  not 
fail  to  stumble  and,  in  my  efforts  to  save  myself  a 
fall,  to  bring  my  hand  upon  the  knife.  In  case  this 
desperate  finesse  did  not  succeed,  I  was  to  be  at- 
tacked in  mv  sleep,  mv  hand  wounded,  and  the 
very  accommodating  Dr.  Martin  was  to  swear  the 
hurt  was  made  by  a  pistol  ball,  and  the  plot  would 
be  complete.  This  last  part  of  the  programme  was 
not  necessary,  for  I  threw  my  hand  directly  on  the 
well  sharpened  point  of  the  blade,  and  I  received 
the  wound  mentioned  bv  Bailiff'  Rogers.  Dare 
you  deny  what  I  have  stated,  Samuel  Pruyter r"  he 
suddenly  asked,  turning  and  facing  the  carter. 

Young  Pruyter  had  known  all  along  that  his  dis- 
guise was  penetrated,  and  this  question,  sudden  as 
it  was,  and  wholly  unexpected  by  those  not  in  the 
secret,  in  no  way  startled  him,  but  he  made  no  re- 
ply. 

"Please  examine  his  left  hand,  Mr.  Officer;  the 
one  he  has  kept  in  his  bosom,  and  you  will  find  the 
marks  of  a  bullet  that  did  not  rebound." 

To  this  examination  Pruyter  made  some  resist- 
ance, but  he  was  at  last  forced  to  show  his  hand, 
yet  thickly  swathed  in  bandages.  The  officer  did 
not  undo  it,  and  Hays  continued  : — 

"I  heard  of  the  murder  the  same  evening,  and 
discovering  that  the  suit  of  clothes  and  a  dirk  knife 
well  known  to  be  mine,  were  missing,  I  saw  how 
deeply  I  was  enmeshed,  and  resolved  that  mv  time 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  441 

at  Copper  Mountain  being  limited,  I  had  best  make 
mv  escape,  and  on  the  outside  of  a  jail,  better  bring 
these  things  to  light ;  but  Rogers  was  too  quick 
for  me.  There  were  several  papers  in  Pruvter's 
strong  box  that  it  was  necessary  I  should  have,  in 
order  to  make  the  chain  of  evidence  1  had  procured 
against  the  gang  complete,  and  I  was  compelled  to 
wait  until  the  old  villain  left,  in  the  morning,  be- 
fore I  was  able  to  enter  his  room  and  secure  them. 
This  I  had  just  accomplished,  and  was  in  hope  to 
reach  Steadville  before  1  was  arrested,  and  there, 
make  mv  business  and  discoveries,  and  mv  immu- 
nity from  arrest  known,  when  Mr.  Rogers  came  up 
and  arrested  me.  Of  the  note  from  Miss  Morrison, 
as  she  then  was,  I  know  nothing,  but  am  satisfied 
that  it  was  placed  in  mv  pocket  bv  Samuel  Pruvter. 
I  said  that  I  wished  to  find  out  the  secret  of  all  the 
machinations,  better  on  the  outside  of  a  jail,  but  it 
was  not  to  be,  and  as  the  matter  was  pressed  bv  the 
Pruvters,  I  concluded  to  let  them  have  their  own 
way  anil  try  me;  and,  in  the  meantime,  obtain 
someone,  if  possible,  to  trace  certain  clues  for  me^ 
and,  vour  honor,  Mrs.  Elsie  Hays,  assisted  bv  mv 
friend,  Dick  Felton,  with  a  genius  for  a  detective's 
vocation  of  which  anyone  might  be  proud,  follow- 
ed the  villains  step  by  step  until  the  whole  matter 
could  be  read  as  from  an  open  book." 

At  these  remarks  of  her  husband,  Elsie  blushed, 
and  Felton,  as  usual,  said  nothing,  but  smiled  se- 
renely. 

"And  the  body,    Mr.  Hays.      What  became  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  murdered  man's  body?"  asked  Judge  Flem- 
ming,  whose  curiosity  had  got  the  better  of  his 
sense  of  self-importance  and  strenuousness  to  pre- 
serve the  dignity  of  trials  at  law. 

"Aiick  Cameron,  an  honest  Scotchman,  your 
honor,"  replied  the  detective,  "but  unfortunately 
concerned  in  the  late  uprising,  being  in  a  manner, 
outlawed,  was  in  the  habit  of  making  surreptitious 
visits  to  his  family,  and,  on  the  night  in  question, 
with  his  eldest  son,  was  making  Viis  way  to  Uncle 
Sam's  dominions,  when,  in  crossing  the  bridge,  he 
saw  his  old  captain  apparently  murdered  and  lying 
with  a  ghastly  wound  in  his  breast,  in  the  water, 
or  partially  so,  and  upon  examination,  finding  that 
Lorimer's  heart  yet  beat,  the  two  men,  after  bind- 
ing up  his  wound  to  the  best  of  their  abilitv  and 
means,  carried  him  to  their  boat  and  transported 
him  to  his  brother's  house.  Not  having  heard  of 
the  captain's  pardon,  Cameron  was  at  a  loss  what 
to  do,  when,  on  the  third  day,  he  found  Hector 
Lorimer,  the  captain's  brother,  and  told  him  the 
circumstances  and  was  advised  not  to  disclose  his 
then  present  situation  until  they  had  had  commu- 
nication with  mer  and  to  hide  the  boat.  Have  I 
told  the  truth  so  far,  Alick?  If  Mr.  Rogers  will 
measure  Mr.  Cameron's  boot,  he  will  probably  find 
it  will  fit  his  pattern  of  the  larger  track  ;  the  lesser 
one  was  that  of  his  son." 

Cameron  arose,  bowed  and  swinging  one  of  his 
feet  to  the  back  of  the  seat  in  front  of  him,  exhib- 
ited a  boot  that,  if  numbered  at  all,  must  have 


THE  COUNTERFEITER*.  443 

reached  the  de'iPs  do/en  or  maur,"  as  he  himself, 
would'  have  expressed  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion, 
and  the  great  interest  they  all  felt  in  the  remarkable 
tale,  many  a  smile  might  have  been  seen  on  the  fa- 
ces of  the  spectators,  as  this  episode  transpired. 

"For  four  days,"  continued  the  speaker,  "the 
scalebeam,  balancing  life  and  death,  remained  at 
its  horizontal,  and  the  skillful  doctor,  having  him 
in  charge,  began  to  have  hopes  that  his  life  would 
be  spared  ;  nor  were  his  hopes  destined  to  be  dis^ 
appointed,  for,  on  the  fifth  day,  he  began  slowly  to 
recuperate,  and  at  the  end  of  ten  days  his  conva- 
lesence  was  sure  and  rapid.  Much  against  my  will 
he  has  insisted  on  being  present,  on  this  occasion, 
that  I  might  appeal  to  him  for  proof  of  my  asser- 
tions, as  I  now  do.  Am  I  truthful  in  all  this,  Her- 
bert Lorimer?" 

And  a  tall  form  that  until  now  had  been  almost 
hidden  by  a  pillar  and  the  shade  it  cast,  now  threw 
back  the  high  coat  collar  that  had  mostly  covered 
his  face,  and  disclosed  the  wan,  emaciated,  but 
easily  recognized  features  of  the  supposed  murder- 
ed man.  yet  in  life. 

"I  am  too  weak  to  rise,  your  honor,"  he  said  ; 
"but  with  my  voice  I  say,  Aye  and  Amen  !" 

"My  task  is  now  finished,  your  honor,"  said  the 
detective  ;  "and  be  assured  I  little  thought,  when 
I  entered  that  stone  house  over  there  on  the  lake, 
to  expose  and  bring  to  justice  a  nest  of  counter- 
feiters, that  I  was  placing  myself  within  a  den  of 


444  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

murderers,  robbers,  thieves  and  forgers,  where  ev- 
ery crime  known  to  the  law  has  become  an 'every- 
day affair,  or  perhaps  I  would  have  taken  a  calm, 
serious  second  thought,  before  I  undertook  it.  And 
now,  having  said  what  I  have  to  say  why  sentence 
of  death  should  not  be  passed  upon  me,  I  leave 
myself  in  the  hands  of  your  honor,  and  the  twelve 
gentlemen  who  have  so  patiently  sat  and  heard  my 
ill-told  story,  so  long." 

Judge  Flemming  aroused  himself,  and  looking 
around,  seemed  to  have  just  realized  what  he  had 
long  ago  forgotten,  that  he  was  the  judge  who  was 
trying  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  He  rubbed  his  face, 
blew  his  nose,  stammered,  hesitated  and  finally,  as 
if  much  relieved  from  the  dilemma,  turned  to  the 
clerk  and  said  : — 

"You  may  take  the  verdidt,  Mr.  Clerk." 

The  jury  consulted  for  a  moment,  for  they  had 
but  just  awakened  to  their  own  situation,  and  then 
rising,  the  foreman  said  : — 

"We  find  the  prisoner  NOT  GUILTY,  as  in  man- 
ner and  form  the  indictment  hath  charged." 

"This  is  your  verdict,  Mr.  Foreman — "  he  bow- 
ed — "and  yours,  gentlemen  of  the  jury?"  They 
all  acquiesced. 

"The  prisoner  is  discharged,"  said  the  judge, 
and  seeing  that  the  prisoners  denounced  by  the  de- 
tective had  all  been  removed,  and  that  the  specta- 
tors were  in  a  state  of  incipient  explosion,  he  con- 
tinued:  "and  the  court  is  adjourned  until  to-mor- 
row morning,  at  the  usual  hour." 


THE  COUNTERFEITED.  445 

It  was  extremely  fortunate  for  the  self-corn  pais- 
ance  of  Judge  Fteinming  and  the  dignity  of  his 
court,  lhat  he  made  the  addenda  he  did,  far  no 
sooner  had  he  said  it,  than  a  cheer  arose,  such  as 
those  walls,  he  assured,  never  before  nor  since  have 
resounded  to. 

"Your  honor."  said  Hays,  when  the  noise  had 
partially  subsided,  "my  business  calls  me  to  the 
city  of  New  York,  at  once,  and  I  offer  Messrs  Gil- 
fillan,  Stark  weather  and  Herbert  Lorimer,  as  sure- 
tics  in  any  amount  you  may  please  to  name  for  my 
appearance  to  prosecute  all  those  against  whom  I 
have  preferred  charges,  when  the  time  of  their  tri- 
al shall  arrive."  . 

"I  hardly  think  it  necessary  to  require  bail,  Mr. 
Hays. "said  the  judge,  smiling.  "I  apprehend  the 
reward  of  the  English  Government,  for  detecting 
counterfeiters  of  Her  Majesty's  currency,  will  be 
sufficient  to  bring  you  forward." 

"Well,  Dick  Felton,"  remarked  Hays,  "as  you 
will  have  no  further  occasion  to  study  Canadian  law 
and  practice,  and  our  business,  for  the  present,  is 
finished,  in  the  Queen's  Dominions,  we  have  only 
to  take  up  our  line  of  march  for  our  homes." 

Saving  which  he  took  his  wife  under  his  arm, 
and  Felton,  smiling  serenely,  performing  the  same 
service  for  Miss  Leonard,  they  left  the  courthouse. 

But  they  were  destined  not  to  escape  so  easily, 
for  as  they  came  out  upon  the  brick  walk,  leading 
from  the  Court  House  door  to  the  street,  the  exci- 
ted assemblage  began  to  gather  around  them,  and 


'  HE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Chamberlain's  house  coach  happening  to  stand  at 
the  curb,  they  opened  the  door,  and  while  several 
of  the  ringleaders  waited  upon  the  detective,  his 
lawver  and  the  two  ladies  inside,  others  detached 
the  horses  and,  amid  cheers  that  made  the  goodly 
town  of  Saybrook  ring  again,  and  even  reach  the 
ears  of  the  prisoners  through  the  thick  walls  of  the 
goal,  adding  but  little  to  their  happiness,  commen- 
ced a  sort  of  triumphal  procession  toward  the  ho- 
tel, drawing  the  coach  and  its  surprised  inmates 
with  them.  They  had  proceeded  but  about  half- 
way, when  a  childish  voice,  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
crowd,  that  had  now  increased  fourfold,  was  heard 
at  the  full  compass  of  its  power,  exclaiming: — 

"Hulloa,  there!  Where  is  Gil  Hays?  I  want 
to  find  Gil  Hays,"  and  presently  Hector  Lorimer 
came  bounding  from  shoulder  to  shoulder  of  the 
massed  men,  sometimes  slipping  from  his  some- 
what precarious  footing,  but  recovering  again  with 
surprising  agility  ;  knocking  hats  and  caps  over  the 
eyes  of  the  owners,  and  making  rapid  headway, 
still  crying  for  -'Gil  Hays,"  until  he  had  gained  a 
thinner  space  in  the  mass,  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  the  slowly  moving  coach,  where  he  paused, 
standing  a  foot  upon  each,  on  the  shoulders  of  two 
men,  who  had  paused  in  astonishment,  at  the  un- 
usual burden  that  had,  so  suddenly  fell  upon  them. 

"There  he  is  sonny,  right  there,  in  the  coach," 
said  a  good  natured  little  man  close  by. 

"Sonny  !  you  pea-soup  eating  Canuck,"  yelled 
Hector,  dropping  lightly  upon  the  ground,  and,  in 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  447 

a  rage  at  the  slight  that  was  put  upon  him.  "I'll 
show  you  about  this  'sonny'  matter,"  and  he  seized 
the  affrighted  little  man  by  the  ankles,  and  with  a 
strength  at  all  times  remarkable,  but  now  nearly 
doubled  by  his  anger,  he  raised  him  bodily,  and 
giving  a  might v  heave,  pitched  him  headforemost, 
endlong,  over  the  heads  of  nearest,  and  into  the 
thickest  of  the  crowd.  Then  mounting  to  the  dri- 
ver's seat  with  the  agility  of  a  monkey,  he  seized 
the  long  whip  that  the  driver  had  left  in  the  socket 
and  with  all  the  sangfroid  of  a  veteran  coachman, 
snapped  it  over  the  heads  of  his  human  team,  and 
once  in  a  while  touching  up,  with  a  deft  fleck  of 
the  silk  snapper,  the  calves  of  some  youngster  in 
the  crowd  who,  uttering  a  loud  yell,  rubbed  vigor- 
onslv  that  part  of  the  human  anatomy  visited,  and 
soon  made,  with  his  companions  in  misfortune,  a 
circle  around  the  carriage,  of  which  the  length  of 
the  dwarfs  arm,  the  whipstock  and  lash  was  a  tri- 
fle less  than  its  radius. 

These  incidents  added  not  a  little  to  the  general 
hilarity  and  good  humor  of  the  whole  proceeding, 
and  the  populace,  among  which  might  have  been 
distinguished  many  of  the  better  citizens  of  the 
place,  though  perfectly  civil,  were  uproarous  and 
mirthful,  to  an  excess.  The  proceedings  within 
the  court-room  had  rapidly  spread  through  the  town 
and  almost  all  the  inhabitants  had  become  aware 
that  the  celebrated  young  police  detective  of  New 
York  was  in  their  midst;  the  errand  that  brought 
him,  and  the  almost  marvellous  success  with  which 


448  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

his  efforts  were  crowned ;  and  were  ready  to  do 
homage  to  the  genius  that  had  accomplished  it  all, 
even  when  possessed  by  an  alien. 

The  lionizing  of  foreigners  is  not  a  peculiarity 
of  yankeedom,  alone,  although  yankees  have  car- 
ried it  to  an  almost  disgusting  excess  in  many  inst- 
ances. In  proof  of  this  recall  the  reception  of  Mc- 
readv,  the  celebrated  English  tragedian  ;  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  ;  of  Jenny  Lind  ;  of  Charles  Dick- 
ens, and  scores  of  others  who  might  be  mentioned, 
where  adulation  was  carried  to  insipidity  ;  lioniz- 
ing to  a  pass  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
animals  with  longer  ears  were  plenty,  and  toady- 
ism to  such  an  extent  that  the  recipients,  themselves 
blushed  for  the  aclors,  who  little  dreamed  that  they 
were  conceived  to  be  less  than  sovereigns  by  those 
to  whom  thev  bowed  the  sycophantic  knee. 

A  proper  respect  for  great  and  good  men,  wheth- 
er they  be  of  foreign  birth  or  not,  at  all  times,  is 
worthv  of  praise,  nor  is  a  due  manifestation  or  ex- 
hibition of  it  reprehensible  ;  even  under  a  more 
than  usual  state  of  enthusiasm,  as  from  the  gaining 
of  an  unexpected  victory  by  some  general,  or  the 
accomplishment  of  some  worthy  and  meritorious 
work,  by  which  the  world  is  benefitted  and  its  in- 
habitants made  better,  when  men  would,  by  shouts 
and  other  extravagant  acts,  show  their  due  appre- 
ciation of  the  genius  that  brought  about  the  end 
with  which  they  are  so  much  pleased ;  fora  hearty 
hurrah  is  one  of  the  best  safety-valves  known  to 
human  nature,  especially  when  followed  and  cl<  sed 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  449 

by  that  most  unhnman  squall,  an  exclamation  point 
of  more  than  common  vim,  called  a  ^'tiger."  Un- 
der such  circumstances  a  man  may  be  allowed  to 
play  the  fool,  but  when  he  makes  a  fool  of  himself, 
in  cool  blood,  he  will  usually  find  his  work  half- 
done  before  commenced. 

When  the  coach  and  its  cortege  had  reached  the 
hotel  door,  the  inmates  were  politely  handed  out  by 
some  of  the  men  who  had  accompanied  them,  Hec- 
tor assisted  from  his  elevated  perch  by  some,  whom 
his  feat  of  strength  had  made  his  admirers  and  the 
whole  party  entered  into  the  domains  of  landlord 
Chamberlain.  Here  the  parlor  was  soon  filled  ; 
Mr.  Hays,  his  wife,  Dick  Felton  and  Miss  Leonard 
were  introduced  to  some  of  the  most  respecled  town 
and  county  people,  there  assembled ;  and  the  same 
service  was  performed  with  Captain  Lorimer,  who 
soon  after  arrived,  escorted  by  his  faithful  esquire, 
Alick  Cameron,  and  others  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  trial.  Gilbert  and  Mrs.  Hays  received  the  com- 
pliments of  the  guests,  modestly,  and  Mr.  Felton 
smiled  serenely  to  hear  his  friend  praised  for  his 
great  courage  and  ability. 

The  reception  was  scarcely  over  when  those  who 
had  remained  on  the  outside,  some  to  return  coach 
and  horses  to  their  driver;  others  to  tell  new-com- 
ers the  story,  now  on  every  tongue,  and  in  every 
ear,  and  explain  the  cause  of  the  somewhat  noisy 
demonstration,  and  others  to  hear  and  see  what 
more  there  was  to  be  heard  and  seen,  began  to  ut- 
ter some  vociferous  and  energetic  calls  for  Hays  to 


45° 


THK  COUNTERFEITERS. 


appear.  That  individual  would  fain  spare  himself 
the  exertion  and  earnestly  conjured  Felton  to  take 
his  place.  To  this  Dick,  who  was  troubled  but 
little  by  the  quality  of  modesty,  and  who  was  wil- 
ling to  assist  his  old  friend  and  school-mate  in  any 
thing  reasonable,  where  his  temper  was  not  liable 
to  be  disturbed,  gracefully  acquiesced,  and  ascend- 
ing the  stairs,  made  his  appearance  on  the  upper 
veranda,  and  raising  his  hand  for  silence,  said  :— 
'^GENTLEMEN  OF  SAYBROOK  :  As  my  friend, 
Mr.  Hays,  is  very  much  fatigued  with  the  toils  and 
excitements  of  the  last  few  days,  and  unable,  him- 
self to  appear,  I  have,  at  his  request,  taken  upon 
myself  the  agreeable  task  of  answering  your  up- 
roarous,  but  very  kind  calls  for  him.  I  am  not  an 
eminent  man  myself  being  but  a  new-fledged  limb 
of  the  law,  from  the  emporium  of  the  American 
Union,  and  only  acquire  such  celebrity  as  I  have 
lately  arrived  at,  from  my  association  with  a  person 
the  most  eminent  in  his  peculiar  and  dangerous  vo- 
cation of  any  man  living,  not  excepting  his  father, 
the  famous  'Thief  Catcher,'  of  many  a  rogue's  ro- 
mance. Like  the  moon  I  shine  with  a  borrowed 
light,  and  am  willing  to  fully  accord  to  the  true  lu- 
minary whatever  brilliance  1  may  reflect.  I  came 
among  you,  about  one  month  ago,  at  Mr.  Havs' 
request,  to  study,  for  a  season,  the  laws  of  your 
Piovince,  and  to  make  myself  acquainted  with  the 
practice  of  your  courts  of  law,  for  mv  employer  is 
one  of  the  men  who  foresees  and  foreguards  every 
emergency,  and  is  seldom  taken  by  surprise.  He 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  451 

little  dreamed,  however,  as  he  told  me,  that  he 
would  require  my  services  to  defend  him  in  an  ac- 
cusation of  the  magnitude  of  the  one  through  that 
which  he  has  just  passed  ;  but  foreseeing  the  need 
of  a  true  and  tried  friend,  in  some  such  capacity  as 
the  one  I  have  so  unworthily  filled  for  the  last  two 
days,  he  deemed  it  best  I  should  pursue  the  course 
I  have. 

"And  allow  rne,  gentlemen,  to  return  to  you  Mr. 
Havs'  most  sincere  thanks  for  your  kindness,  cour- 
tesy and  encouragement,  before,  during  and  since 
his  trial ;  to  the  judge,  jury,  officers  and  all  con- 
cerned in  your  court,  for  the  latitude  that  has  been 
accorded  him  in  his  defence  :  their  uniformly  mag- 
nanimous and  lenient  conduct  to  the  unknown,  sus- 
pecled,  and  accused  murderer,  who  endured  all 
this  that  your  vicinity  might  be  purged  of  the  deep- 
est laid,  most  successful  and.  but  for  him,  the  most 
dangerous  plottings  of  villanv,  crime  and  moral 
turpitude  known,  not  excepting  the  transactions  of 
Murrel  and  his  gang,  the  bandits  and  pirates  of  the 
Mississippi  valley. 

"I  must  not  close  what  I  have  to  say,  without 
informing  you  that  Mr.  Heclor  Lorimer,  Captain 
Lorimer's  younger  and,  gentlemen,  smaller  broth- 
er, has  just  returned  from  a  search  of  the  hence- 
forth famous  Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  and  its  vi- 
cinity, undertaken  in  the  absence  of  the  occupants 
who  were  attending  Mr.  Hays'  trial,  and  that  they 
have  been  enabled,  after  much  labor,  to  find  the 
mutilated  body  of  the  poor  and  much  abused  Mrs. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

Pruvter,  in  the  old  mine  and,  after  a  coroner's  in- 
quest upon  it,  have  consigned  her  remains  to  a 
Christian  burial.  And  now,  with  repeated  thanks, 
allow  me,  as  the  representative  of  Mr.  Gil  Hays, 
and  his  worthy  wife  to  bid  you  a  kind  adieu." 

The  latter  part  of  this  short  speech  was  unfortu- 
nate, inasmuch  as  it  fanned  into  a  flame  the  already 
smouldering  indignation  of  his  hearers  against  the 
author  of  the  woman's  death  ;  and  scarcely  had  the 
tumultuous  and  often  repeated  cheers  that  greeted 
the  young  lawyer's  remarks,  subsided,  than  a  voice 
was  heard  from  the  midst  of  the  crowd  shouting  : — 

"To  the  Jail !" 

For  a  moment  the  concourse  of  people,  now  fast 
merging  into  a  mob,  hesitated,  then  the  shout  was 
again  heard,  and  now  with  answering  cries,  all  to 
the  same  fell  purpose.  In  vain  the  more  orderly, 
and  law-abiding  members  of  the  gathering,  strove 
to  stem  the  current,  by  remonstrances  and  other- 
wise ;  but  the  human  freshet,  for  a  space,  surged 
and  eddied,  and  then  broke  loose  with  the  more 
violence  from  the  very  opposition  it  had  encounter- 
ed, and  rushed  toward  the  jail. 

BailirT  Rogers  had  foreseen  something  of  this 
kind  and  had  not  only  placed  his  whole  force  of 
regular  and  special  officers  within  the  walls,  and 
armed  them  well,  but  had  requested  and  received 
of  the  Major  in  charge  of  the  troops  in  quarters  in 
the  place,  a  companv  of  regulars,  and  they  were 
now  drawn  up  in  line,  in  two  ranks,  with  muskets 
with  fixed  bavonets  and  charged  with  ball,  on  all 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  453 

sides  of  the  building  except  the  rear,  where  a  high, 
strong  fence  seemed  ample  protection. 

The  mob  came  hastily  forward,  but  seeing  the 
preparations  that  had  been  made  for  their  recept- 
ion, paused  ;  but  several  of  the  more  turbulent  en- 
deavored to  cheer  them  on  to  the  work  mapped  out. 
The  mob  advanced  again,  but  grim  and  silent  the 
red  wall  stood,  with  chevaux  defrise  of  glistening 
steel,  with  eyes  to  the  front,  and  not  a  muscle  mov- 
ing. A  few  stones  and  fragments  of  bricks  were 
thrown  among  them,  and  one  poor  fellow  was 
stricken  down,  but  they  were  British  regulars,  and 
still  not  a  muscle  moved,  save,  perhaps,  a  slightly 
more  strained  grasp  of  the  musket.  For  this  the 
rioters  were  unprepared  and,  unprovoked  by  any 
demonstrations  of  any  kind  by  the  soldiery,  and 
rightly  arguing  that  men  who  would  endure  all  of 
this  without  an  effort  at  retaliation,  when  under 
orders  so  to  do,  would  be  dangerous  antagonists  in 
a  rencounter,  and  though  a  few  more  shouts  and 
threats  might  have  been  heard  from  the  ringlead- 
ers, and  a  few  more  harmless  missiles  were  hurled, 
several  men  on  the  outskirts,  the  less  eager,  and, 
many  of  them  mere  spectators,  began  to  detach 
themselves  from  the  crowd  and  move  away.  Then 
a  few  others  wisely  followed  their  example,  and 
this  giving  excuse  to  the  rest,  what  at  first  promis- 
ed to  be  a  serious  matter,  gradually  dissolved  and 
oozed  away,  the  result  of  a  little  foresight  and  de- 
termination that  might  well  be  patterned  after,  by 
some  of  our  own  marshals  and  sheriffs. 


454 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


Bailiff'  Rogers  having  won  this  bloodless  vi<ftory 
soon  repaired  to  the  hotel,  where  he  had  been  in- 
vited to  partake  of  an  extempore  supper,  got  up  in 
landlord  Chamberlain's  best  style,  when  the  great 
brevity  of  his  notice  was  taken  into  consideration, 
We  need  not  rehearse  the  bill-of-fare,  as  it  matters 
very  little  what  composed  it.  At  any  rate  jollity 
and  good  feeling  were  not  the  scarcest  ingredients 
of  the  confection,  nor  were  other  spirits  than  those 
usually  called  choice  ones  wanting,  to  give  zest  to 
the  viands  and  a  boost  to  the  hilarity  of  the  guests, 
for,  dear  reader,  Neal  Dow  or  crusading  bands 
\veje,  then  unknown,  especially  in  that  part  of  the 
American  continent  over  which  Victoria  reigned. 

His  honor,  Judge  Flemming  presided,  and  when 
unwigged  and  ungowned  and  he  felt  not  the  judi- 
cial bench  beneath  him,  he  could  unbend,  and  join 
in  and  enjoy  sublunary  affairs,  such  as  may  be  cat- 
ajogued  under  the  names  of  good  food  and  good 
drink.  Slightly  John  Bullish,  if  we  may  use  the 
word,  he  was  not  forward  to  accord  any  excellence 
to  Young  America,  unless  that  figurative  personage 
deserved  it;  but  there  was  something  that  so  well 
agreed  with  his  feelings,  not  only  as  a.  man,  but  as 
a  judge  and  executor  of  the  law*  in  the  late  career 
of  young  Hays,  something  so  self-sacrificing  and 
brave  in  the  course  he  pursued,  that  he  gave  him 
almost  as  rnuch  credit  for  his  daring  deeds,  as  he 
would,  had  the  hero  of  the  hour  been  a  British- 
born  subjecl. 

Full  many  impromptu  toasts  were  drank  ;  many 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  4^5 

sentiments  of  commendation  were  expressed,  and 
many  speeches  made,  some  long,  some  short,  some 
prosy  and  some  witty  and  very  much  to  the  point. 
Bailiff  Rogers  and  Captain  Lorimer  received  their 
share  of  the  compliments  quietly  and  with  reserve, 
young  Hays  his,  with  modesty  and  thanks,  Felton 
those  falling  to  him  with  a  serene  smile,  and  the 
ladies,  before  they  left  the  table,  theirs  with  blush- 
es and  beaming  looks  toward  those  of  their  choice. 
The  supper  extended  to  a  late  hour,  and  when  the 
guests  took  their  leave,  each  shook  the  detedtive  by 
the  hand  and  thanked  him,  in  the  name  of  Canada, 
of  Justice  and  of  Right,  for  the  service  he  had  per- 
formed, until  Hays  began  to  get  tired  of  praise ; 
but  knowing  full  well  that  those  who  awarded  it, 
were  sincere,  he  endured  it  to  the  end,  with  a  smile 
of  the  utmost  good  nature,  that  kept  the  guests  self- 
satisfied,  though  far  from  it  himself. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  Mrs.  Havs  should  re- 
main at  her  father's  house,  in  Melas,  while  her  hus- 
band went  to  New  York  and  returned,  and  that 
Miss  Leonard  should  be  her  guest.  Herbert  Lori- 
mer, for  a  season,  determined  on  stopping  at  Stead- 
ville,  and  his  brother,  Hector,  for  certain  reasons 
of  his  own,  remained  at  Saybrook. 

These  arrangements  having  been  made,  Morri- 
son took  the  two  ladies  in  his  own  carriage,  and 
the  two  gentlemen  who  were  to  continue  their  jour- 
ney occupied  seats  in  the  coach,  and  passed  on,  in 
their  way  to  the  city,  where,  after  a  fatiguing  ride, 
in  due  course  of  time,  thev  safelv  arrived. 


4-6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

The  authorities,  who  had  only  waited  the  arri- 
val of  Hays,  a  principal  witness,  soon  brought  the 
"gentlemanly  stranger,"  alias  Jim  Thompson,  to 
trial  and,  though,  by  some  quirk  of  the  law,  he 
escaped  conviction  for  his  crime  in  Canada,  there 
was  evidence  sufficient  of  other  misdoings,  and 
those,  too,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  they 
were  enabled  to  give  him  a  term  at  Sing-Sing,  of 
ten  years  duration,  where,  we  may  take  this  occas- 
ion to  relate,  as  this  is  his  last  appearance,  he  re- 
mained nearly  six  of  the  allotted  ten,  when  he  was 
released  from  one  confinement,  to  exchange  it  for 
another,  from  the  prison  cell  to  the  four  walls  of  the 
grave,  and  brought  before  that  Great  Judge,  whose 
verdict  is  righteous  while  his  mercv  is  infinite  and 
who  has  jurisdiction  over  a  universe. 

Young  Havs,  after  the  conviction  of  Thompson, 
repaired  to  Boston,  where  he  appeared  against  his 
old  rival,  Roberts  and  contributed  his  share  toward 
the  sentence  of  that  self-conceited  individual,  and 
in  sending  him  to  that  institution  at  Charlestown, 
where  he,  for  long  years,  occupied  a  single  room, 
and  where  he  had  ample  time  and  opportunity,  to 
study  new  and  startling  ideas  by  which  he  might 
dazzle  the  senses  of  his  hearers  with  evidences  of 
his  errudition.  Hays  and  his  companion,  Felton, 
returned  to  New  York,  whence  the  former  was,  in 
a  few  days,  called  again  to  the  scene  of  his  form- 
er exploit,  on  Canadian  soil. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  457 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

EXEUNT    OMNES. 

rIE  farmer  may  thresh  his  year's  crop  of 
grain,  the  mechanic  build  his  engine,  the 
doctor  cure  his  patient,  the  lawyer  try  his 
cause,  the  clergyman  preach  his  sermon, 
and  the  general  fight  his  battle,  yet  the  farmer  must 
cleanse  his  threshing  floor,  the  mechanic  pack  his 
rods  and  oil  his  bearings,  the  doctor,  by  advice  and 
medicine,  ensure  the  patient's  further  and  complete 
convalescence,  the  lawyer  figure  up  his  costs,  the 
clergyman  pronounce  his  benediction  and  the  gen- 
eral bury  his  dead  and  succor  his  wounded.  So 
too,  the  novelist,  although  he  may  have  told  his 
story,  developed  his  plot  and  arrived  at  his  catas- 
trophe, yet  he  must  do  all,  and  more  than  the  rest, 
for  he  must  not  only  cleanse  his  floor,  put  the  last 
touches  to  his  machine,  see  that  his  former  patient 
is  all  right,  figure  'his  costs,  pronounce  his  adieus, 
and  burv  his  dead,  but  he  must  depict  the  after  fate 
of  all  with  whom  he  had  to  do;  follow  them  into 
the  retirement  of  private  life,  and  by  invading  that 
sanctuary,  enable  his  reader  to  know  the  eftecl  the 
incidents  of  his  narrative  have  had  upon  their  fu- 
ture lives  and  actions,  and  in  fact,  spread  out  the 
last  chapter  of  his  book  to  a  state  of  marvellous 
thinness,  that  his  reader  may  be  satisfied  that  he 
has  done  his  duty  and  his  whole  duty,  by  all  the 
characters  to  whom  he  has  been  introduced,  allaved 
the  storm  his  pen  has  stirred  up.  and  brought  peace 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

nd  quietude  out  of  the  conflict  his  brain  has  con- 
jured for  their  delectation. 

While  young  Hays,  the  detective,  was  thus  doing 
his  duty  for  those  whom  his  sagacity  and  daring 
had  detected  and  followed  into  the  hands  of  outra- 
ged justice,  in  the  persons  of  the  "gentlemanly 
stranger,"  and  the  pedantic  Roberts,  the  remaining 
victims  of  his  excusable  treachery  were  meditating 
in  different  moods,  as  their  state  of  mind  prompted, 
on  the  fate  in  store  for  them,  within  the  four  walls 
of  Saybrook  jail.  Justice  D and  lawyer  Ste- 
vens had  soon  procured  bail,  but  the  rest,  either  too 
poor  to  be  able  to  secure  those  who  would  other- 
wise become  their  bondsmen,  or  whose  crimes  were 
of  too  deep  a  dye  to  warrant  the  authorities  in  re- 
leasing them  from  duress  for  a  money  considera- 
tion, were  waiting,  with  such  patience  as  they  had, 
the  hour  when  they  would  be  arraigned. 

There  was  a  marked  change  in  the  deportment 
of  the  citizens,  male  and  female,  of  Saybrook,  in 
their  behavior  to  the  present  prisoners,  from  that 
which  they  had  shown  to  the  former  one  on  a  for- 
mer occasion,  as  recorded.  Then  it  was  the  fash- 
ion to  pet  and  fete,  encourage  and  enhearten,  bv 
their  presence  and  their  means,  the  lone  waiter  for 
justice ;  but  fashions  had  changed,  as  suddenly  as 
the  cut  of  a  coat,  or  the  shape  of  a  hat  changes, 
now-a-days;  and  where  before  they  gave  bread, 
they  now  would  hurl  a  stone,  for  there  was  nothing 
so  romantic  in  murdering  a  wife  and  mother  as  in 
killing  a  rival  in  the  affections  of  a  loved  one. 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

The  stupor,  whether  real  or  simulated,  into 
which  the  elder  Pruyter  had  fallen,  during  the  ex- 
posure of  his  schemes  and  crimes,  and  after  his  at- 
tempt to  silence  at  once  and  forever  the  tongue,  in 
whose  denunciation  was  death,  after  his  incar- 
ceration, began  slowly  to  drift  awav,  and  before 
midnight  he  was  again  the  cool,  calculating,  sche- 
ming, plausible  villain  he  was  before.  This  recu- 
peration, be  it  understood,  was  not  witnessed  bv 
any  who  had  him  in  charge,  for  it  was  his  plan  to 
seem  incapable  of  any  concentrated  exertion  to  es- 
cape, for,  by  so  seeming,  he  anticipated  less  watch- 
fulness on  the  part  of  his  keepers.  A  chemist  un- 
excelled by  any  one,  the  man  was  not  unprepared 
with  materials  for  tampering  with  the  iron  bars  of 
his  windows,  prepared  and  kept  on  hand,  for  just 
such  an  emergency  as  the  present,  which  his  pre- 
carious and  dangerous  mode  of  life  had  taught  him 
was  essential.  By  his  consumate  cunning  he  had 
been  enabled  to  retain  the  vessel  containing  the 
preparation,  during  his  being  searched  upon  com- 
mitment, and  his  first  acl,  after  he  was  left  alone, 
in  his  cell,  was  to  find  some  secure  hiding  place 
for  it,  until  such  time  as  circumstances  and  oppor- 
tunity would  admit  of  its  use.  This  he  succeeded 
in  doing  by  digging  out  a  small  portion  of  mortar 
in  the  interstices  of  two  large  stones  in  the  floor, 
near  the  window,  and  after  concealing  the  vial  in 
the  cavitv  thus  made,  filling  it  with  the  substance 
substracted,  re-wet  and  carefully  packed  around  it. 
and  dusted  to  hide  its  newness. 


460  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

The  prisoner  lost  no  time  in  examining  the  gra- 
ting of  the  window,  and  the  outside  of  the  jail,  as 
far  as  he  was  able  with  the  limited  vision  he  could 
obtain  from  the  casement.  While  engaged  in  this 
endeavor,  he  was,  in  a  measure,  surprised  to  dis- 
cover the  diminutive  form  of  Hector  Lorimer  in 
the  street,  and  ga/ing  at  him  with  an  intentness 
that  seemed  to  read  his  very  thoughts,  in  his  face. 
This  apparition  struck  the  old  man  with  a  chill  he 
was  unable,  for  SOITI.J  rnoments,  to  rid  himself  of; 
but  finallv  bringing  the  whole  strength  of  his  mind 
to  bear  upon  the  subjed  ;  he  attributed  the  presence 
of  the  young  man,  with  whom  he  was  but  slightly 
acquainted,  and  made  the  mistake  that  many  oth- 
ers did,  that  of  estimating  the  capacity  and  deter- 
mination of  the  dwarf  from  his  size  and  appear- 
ance, to  a  childish  curiosity  on  his  part  that  would 
soon  be  satisfied  and  lead  its  possessor  away.  In 
the  midst  of  these  cogitations  a  shrill  laugh,  some- 
what elfish  in  its  tones,  smote  his  ear,  through  the 
window  he  had  hastily  left. 

Nearly  an  hour  elapsed  before  he  again  ventured 
to  look  ont,  expecting,  of  course,  that  the  street 
was  then; fully  deserted,  when  he  again  beheld  the 
grinning  features  of  his  tormenter,  so  great  had  the 
darkness  then  become,  apparently  plastered  against 
the  wall  at  his  back.  As  quick  as  possible,  Pruy- 
ter  dodged  back  his  head,  but  not  so  quickly  but 
Hector  caught  sight  of  him,  and  again  that  devil- 
ish laugh  rang  on  his  ears.  Surprised  at  the  coin- 
cidence, as  lie  deemed  it,  that  had  brought  the  boy 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  j|6l 

again  to  his  window,  at  the  same  time  that  lie  had 
himself  looked  out,  the  old  man  seated  himself, 
and  patiently  waited  a  later  hour  to  commence  his 
operations.  He  had,  during  his  progress  to  the  jail, 
got  an  opportunity  of  delivering  to  a  friend  in  the 
crowd,  a  note  he  had  been  able  to  write,  during  his 
pretended  stupor,  in  which  he  requested  that  a  Meet 
horse  should  be  in  readiness  at  a  spot  named,  in 
case  he  should  need  it;  and  so  confident  was  he  of 
success,  that  he  was  sure  the  animal  was  in  waiting. 
This  friend,  who  by  some  rare  luck,  had  not  hap- 
pened to  have  any  intercourse  with  his  superior, 
during  Hays'  presence  at  Copper  Mountain,  and 
had  thus  escaped  the  detection  that  surely  would 
have  been  his  fate  had  such  taken  place,  being  com- 
paratively well-to-do  in  the  world  and,  withal,  a 
subservient  friend,  had  procured  the  horse;  but  the 
poor  animal  was  destined  to  stand  long  before  his 
services  were  required. 

\Vhen  another  hour  had  elapsed,  Pruvter  crept 
stealthily  to  the  window,  and  little  by  little  raising 
his  head,  peered  out,  and  there  was  yet  the  lace, 
plastered  to  the  wall,  and  again  he  heard  the  taun- 
ting laugh.  The  old  villain  knew  all  now.  The 
young  Lorimer  had  located  his  cell,  and  aware  of 
his  deep  cunning,  was  watching  him  that  he  should 
not  escape.  Wakeful,  keen,  relentless,  there  the 
Cerberus  stood,  a  far  stronger  barrier  than  walls  of 
granite  or  grates  of  iron,  to  his  egress.  Acid  might 
weaker,  the  strength  of  the  iron,  and  constant  drop- 
ping of  energy  and  perseverance  might  wear  away 


462  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

the  stone,  but  of  what  earthly  use  were  these  when 
pasted  against  that  wall  were  the  apish  features,  as 
they  seemed,  in  the  darkness,  impish,  ever  watch- 
ful of  his  slightest  movement.  The  night  was 
nearly  passed  when  he  again  looked  out,  but  there 
stood  the  self-imposed  sentinel  between  him  and 
liberty,  the  increasing  light  of  coming  day  bring- 
ing out  in  stronger  and  stronger  relief,  the  face  that 
had,  all  the  long  night,  without  scarcely  winking, 
with  its  earnest  eyes,  watched  the  narrow  slit  of 
window  opening  upon  his  cell-  A  morning  sneer 
greeted  his  looking  forth,  and  as  the  sun  began  to 
rise  and  a  sleeping  town  to  tumble  into  the  street, 
the  dwarf  turned  away  and  taking  his  course  tow- 
ard the  hotel,  disappeared. 

The  reflections  of  William  Pruvter,  or,  to  give 
him  his  true  name,  William,  Baron  of  Meredith, 
were  gloomy  and  fearful  during  the  hours  of  that, 
to  him,  long  day.  Would  Heclor  Lorimer  come 
again  when  the  night  came,  to  cut  oft*  all  hope  of 
escape?  The  startling  intelligence  that  he  had  mur- 
dered his  own  wife,  coming  close  on  the  heels  of 
the  news  that  his  brother  was  dead,  furnished  him 
with  bitter  food  for  contemplation.  Once  free  of 
granite  walls  and  environing  bars,  his  escape  was 
certain,  provided  always,  that  he  could  gain  two 
hours  the  start  of  pursuers,  he  knew  would  be  on 
his  track.  With  all  the  cunning  of  the  superior 
animal,  man,  he  combined  the  instinctive  craftiness 
of  the  fox,  and  once  away,  he  had  no  fears  of  recap- 
ture. Would  the  imp,  Hedtor  Lorimer,  come,  to 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  463 

prevent  the  consumation  of  his  well-matured  plan  ? 
With  a  large  amount  of  genuine  money  secreted 
where  it  would  take  but  one  moment  to  secure  it, 
in  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass,  he  could,  in  some 
foreign  land,  remain  unknown  and  untrammelled, 
by  fears  of  jails  or  justice,  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
his  knavery  while  life  lasted. 

He  cared  not  for  kith  or  kin.  His  son  might 
work  out  his  own  safety,  if  he  was  able.  His  pres- 
ence would  be  but  a  clog  to  his  flight,  a  leaden 
weight  to  his  feet,  and  a  chance  of  discovery  when 
far  away  and  in  security.  A  blooded  horse  would 
carry  him,  in  that  precious  two  hours,  to  his  trea- 
ure ;  that  secured,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
minutes  would  place  him  beyond  the  strictest  ken 
of  the  best  scented  officer.  To  use  his  chemicals 
by  daylight  he  dared  not,  for  he  was  liable,  at  any- 
time, to  interruption,  and  the  odor  arising  from  de- 
composing iron,  without  an  hour's  previous  fumi- 
gation, would  betray  him  at  once.  The  door,  the 
walls  were  firm  and  could  not  be  broached  ;  and 
even  were  he  in  the  corridors  of  the  prison,  he  was 
not  free.  No,  the  window  was  his  only  hope,  and 
the  night  his  only  salvation.  Would  Heclor  Lor- 
imer  be  present  to  defeat  his  plans? 

He  could  not  work  under  those  watchful  eyes. 
They  would  take  in  his  purpose  at  once,  and  known 
to  him,  it  would  be  known  to  the  prison  officials, 
and  his  last  hope,  the  straw  which  he,  a  drowning 
man — drowning  in  despair — had  grasped,  would 
be  gone.  Without  that  face  pasted  upon  the  wall, 


464  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

with  its  keen,  remorseless,  watchful  eyes  fixed  on 
him,  and  that  taunting  laugh  ringing  in  his  ears, 
the  hope,  the  straw  of  safety,  would  become  a  huge 
beam  on  the  current  of  fate,  more,  an  ark  of  secu- 
rity. And  again  the  darkly  meditating  old  man, 
despite  his  better  judgement,  found  himself  asking 
himself:  Would  Hedtor  Lorimer  be  there? 

And  he  was  now  Baron  Meredith,  a  peer  of  En- 
gland. Why  could  he  not  have  been  satisfied  with 
the  large  fortune  he  had  already  amassed,  when 
Helen  Leonard  made  her  discovery,  and  taking  her 
advice,  have  fted,  at  a  time  when  he  was  compar- 
atively innocent  of  crimes  that  would  have  been 
noticed  bv  the  Canadian,  or,  at  least,  the  English 
authorities,  while  he  was  vastly  wealthy,  and  a  no- 
ble. The  messenger  bubbles  had  not  then  arisen, 
bringing  messages  from  the  dead  to  th:  living;  no 
Queen's  face  had  been,  by  him,  imaged  on  the  spu- 
rious metal;  nor  would  he  have  been  there,  to  be 
spied  upon  bv  one,  whom  his  presentiment  had 
truly  told  him,  he  had  reason  to  tear.  But  all  such 
thoughts  were  useless  now.  Here  he  was  and  from 
here  he  must  escape.  Would  Hector  Lorimer.  his 
incubus,  come  to-night  to  thwart  his  hope? 

And  soon  he  began  to  ask  that  question  more  of- 
ten. When  eating  or  drinking,  or  \ralking  his  nar- 
row cell  ;  alone  or  in  company,  he  found  himself 
constantly  asking  himself  that  question,  again  and 
again.  Would  Hector  Lorimer  come  to-night? — 
And  over  and  over  again,  the  last  thing  before  he 
closed  his  eyes  in  that  afternoon  sleep  and  the  llrst 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

on  opening,  just  as  the  shades  of  evening  began  to 
fall,  was  the  question  :  Would  Hector  Lorimer  be 
there  to-night? 

Night  answered  the  question,  for  scarcely  had 
the  iron-clamped  doors  been  closed,  than  he  saw 
him  there.  And  as  the  darkness  increased  the  face 
flattened  more  and  still  more,  and  then  it  seemed 
pasted  to  the  wall,  its  wakeful,  watchful,  relentless 
eyes  noting  his  every  motion  at  the  window,  and 
that  fiendish  laugh  greeted  his  every  appearance  at 
the  grated  aperture,  however  cautiously  he  made 
it.  The  least  breath  of  that  corroding  effluvium 
would  be  borne  to  his  nostrils,  did  he  dare  apply 
the  chemicals.  All  night  long,  till  coming  day  lift- 
ed the  face  into  relief,  and  the  rising  sun  awoke  the 
town  to  life,  he  staid,  with  his  eyes,  remorseless, 
pitiless,  intent,  watching  his  slightest  movement, 
and  then  he  laughed  and  turned  away. 

And  night  again,  and  every  night  answered  his 
question,  again  and  again.  He<5tor  Lorimer  was 
there,  ever  there,  always  there,  from  evening  until 
morning,  when  he  laughed  and  turned  away.  And 
.soon  that  flattened  face  pasted  to  the  wall,  began 
to  mingle  with  the  messenger  bubbles,  and  some- 
times they  issued  from  the  face,  and  bubbled  up 
before  his  window,  bringing  (.heir  messages  from 
the  dead  to  the  living;  messages  of  condemnation, 
of  coming  judgement,  that  required  no  linguist  to 
translate,  no  scribe  to  read. 

At  last,  one  night,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
week  of  the  prisoner's  incarceration,  Heclor  came 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

a  little  later  than  usual,  and  when  the  darkness  had 
fathered,  the  face  seemed  pasted  on  the  wall  a  tri- 
fle lower  down  than  before;  and  near  midnight  it 
appeared  to  peel  gradually  off' from  the  upper  part 
and  slowly  roll  down  the  wall.  Hector  Lorimei 
had  had  no  sleep  that  day.  He  had  been  to  Stead- 
ville  to  attend  the  wedding  of  his  brother  Herbert 
with  Helen  Leonard.  They  had  awaited  the  re- 
turn of  young  Hays,  whom  they  wished  to  have 
present  with  his  wife,  for  to  them  they  were  under 
the  deepest  obligation  for  the  happiness  of  the  mo- 
ment, and  that  in  store  for  them  ;  and  this  was  why 
the  watcher  was  later  than  was  his  wont,  and  why- 
he  slept  at  his  post. 

The  old  man  saw  and  marked  this,  and  express- 
ed his  satisfaction  with  a  growl  such  as  would  have 
issued  from  the  throat  of  some  flesh-  eating  brute, 
that  had  his  prey  secure  in  his  grasp.  He  applied 
the  acids,  and  with  his  hand  thrust  through  the  gra- 
ting, fanned  the  pungent  odor  back  into  the  cell, 
that  no  part  might  reach  the  olfactory  nerves  of  the 
sleeper  and  arouse  him  to  a  consciousness  of  what 
was  being  done.  Two  hours  thus  passed,  when. 
producing  a  small  saw,  the  prisoner  silently  separa- 
ted the  weakened  bars,  carefully  concealing  one  in 
his  rocket.  He  then  produced  a  thin,  but  strong. 
rope  of  silk,  attached  one  end  to  the  stump  of  one 
of  the  bars  yet  imbedded  in  the  solid  masonry  of 
the  window  sill,  and  quietly  let  himself  down  to 
the  ground.  Crouching,  an  instant,  in  the  shadow, 
he  grasped  his  concealed  bar  and  rising,  he  sprang 


THE  COUNTER  FEITEKS.  467 

upon  the  unconscious  s lumberer,  with  his  weapon 
raised  and  murder  in  his  heart.  Sudden  and  awful 
as  was  the  awakening,  the  dwarf  was  in  full  pos- 
session of  all  his  senses,  and  by  the  aid  of  his  mar- 
vellous agility,  he  saw  the  danger  and  avoided  it. 
The  iron  bludgeon  came  down  with  a  crash,  throw- 
ing out  a  shower  of  sparks,  on  theexacl  spot  where 
his  head  had,  but  a  short  moment  before,  been  un- 
consciously lying. 

With  a  bound,  and  a  yell  that  drowned  the  dis- 
appointed curse  of  his  assailant,  He6tor  springing 
to  his  feet,  shouted  : — 

"Stop  Thief!  Stop  Thief!  A  prisoner  escap- 
ed !"  and  sped  away  with  the  speed  of  a  rocket,  in 
the  direction  of  the  hotel,  the  prisoner  having  dis- 
appeared, like  the  image  in  a  distempered  dream, 
in  the  surrounding  gloom. 

Fruvter  found  his  horse  in  waiting,  little  dream- 
ing, in  his  anxiety  for  the  road,  to  what  base  pur- 
pose his  noble  powers  of  speed  and  endurance  were 
to  be  put  The  bridle  was  over  his  neck,  but  the 
loop  encircling  a  post,  and  with  another  growl  of 
satisfaction  the  fugitive  sprang  to  the  saddle,  and 
giving  the  nobler  beast  of  the  two  a  sharp  stroke 
of  the  palm  of  his  hand,  rode  fiercely  out  into  the 
darkness.  And  then  away,  like  an  arrow  from  a 
well-strung  bow,  into  the  murky  gloom,  on  that 
steeple-chase,  with  its  goal,  wealth,  and  the  prize 
to  be  won,  safety;  carrying  weight,  a  fearful  load 
of  crime  and  seared  conscience,  to  drag  down  the 
noble  animal's  great  courage.  Pruvterwasa  good 


468  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

horseman,  though  slightly  out  of  practice,  but  the 
cradle-like  motion  of  the  swift  stride  made  his  seat 
secure ;  and  when  he  dropped  his  hand  upon  the 
holsters  at  his  saddle-bow  and  found  therein  two 
long,  rifle  barrelled  pistols,  loaded  and  primed  with 
care,  a  sort  of  exultation  filled  his  brain,  a  giddy 
hope  of  ultimate  escape. 

On,  on,  with  the  tireless  stride,  and  the  fire  flash- 
ing from  his  steel-clad  hoofs,  and  with  his  shapely 
head  and  long  neck  thrown  out  upon  a  level,  the 
noble  steed  bore  his  weight  of  villany  and  crime 
through  the  night  with  a  speed  that  seemed  to  set 
all  pursuit  at  defiance  ;  and  as  mile  after  mile  of  the 
darksome  road  rolled  back  of -him,  the  heart  and 
hope  of  the  fugitive  were  higher  and  higher,  in 
proportion  as  the  distance  increased.  On,  on,  up 
and  down  the  long  rolls  of  land,  like  a  gallant  ship 
breasting,  surmounting,  and  then  going  down  the 
giant  swells  of  the  ocean,  or  like  a  steamer,  for  no\v 
the  nostrils  and  flanks  of  the  racer  began  to  throw 
ofl',  in  the  chill  of  the  night  air,  volumes  of  vapor, 
as  does  the  funnel  of  the  sea-going  steam  vessel, 
but  pausing  or  hesitating  not  in  the  long,  quickly 
gathered  stride  or  flashing  hoofs. 

At  last  he  crowned  a  hill,  the  highest  in  the  road 
between  Saybrook  and  the  Stone  House  in  the  Pass, 
thence  a  land-mark,  a  guide-stone,  telling  him  that 
half  his  journey  was  done.  Here  he  drew  rein  to 
listen.  The  faithful  animaf  stood,  with  drooping 
head  and  trembling  tail  and  jarring  through  all  his 
frame,  with  every  throb  of  his  resolute  heart.  Not 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  469 

a  sound  broke  the  stillness  of  the  night  save  the 
sobbing  of  his  steed  and  the  distant  croakings  of  a 
community  of  frogs  in  a  marsh  far  away  to  his  left 
bordering  the  river.  There  was  not  a  single  pul- 
sation of  pity  made  by  the  obdurate  heart,  not  one 
throb  of  commiseration  in  that  elated  pulse,  for  the 
agony  of  the  peerless  companion  of  his  flight ;  but 
well  knowing  that  in  his  lasting  to  the  end  of  the 
race,  depended  his  safety,  the  rider,  as  he  proceed- 
ed, after  his  short  pause,  did  so  at  slower  pace. 

Ten  minutes  elapsed,  and  then  came  the  jeering 
laugh  that  had  become  so  familiar  to  his  ears,  shrill 
as  the  whistle  of  the  northwest  wind  in  wintertime 
as  penetrating,  that  sneering  cachination  drowned 
the  sobbing  of  his  steed,  drowned  the  croaking  of 
the  frogs,  and  mingling  with  the  measured  beat  of 
a  coming  horse's  feet;  it  broke  upon  his  ears,  like 
the  relentness  knell  of  death,  the  crying  of  some 
fiend  for  his  soul.  And  then,  with  a  fierce  clatter, 
a  veil  of  exultation  and  a  still  more  taunting  laugh, 
came  HetStor  Lorimer,  mounted  on  the  back  of  the 
matchless  Logan. 

With  a  deep  drawn  curse  the  now  panting  fugi- 
tive urged  his  tired  animal  to  a  quicker  pace,  and 
away  went  pursuer  and  pursued,  like  two  erratic 
meteors,  one  chasing  the  other  chased,  through  the 
proverbially  darkest  hour  that  precedes  the  coming 
of  the  day.  Closer  and  more  close  crept  the  out- 
stretched head  of  Logan  to  the  streaming  tail  in  his 
front;  closer  and  still  more  close,  and  the  black 
muzzle  lapped  the  flank,  the  saddle,  the  shoulder, 


4;o 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


the  throatlatch,  and  then  they  were  running  neck- 
and-neck,  head-and-head  in  that  fearful  night  race. 
For  only  an  instant,  and  then,  with  a  mighty  eff- 
ort, Logan  cleared  himself  of  his  competitor  and 
forged  ahead,  gaining  yard  by  yard,  until  his  ad- 
vance counted  fully  an  hundred,  and  then  he  halt- 
ed and  faced  him.  But  the  fugitive  had  not  been 
idle.  Gathering  the  bridle-rein  in  his  left  hand, 
his  right  stole  to  the  holster,  drew  from  it  a  shining 
pistol,  and  with  such  aim  as  the  dark  shadows  ad- 
mitted of,  he  pulled  the  trigger,  and  the  matchless 
Logan,  uttering  a  cry  of  agony,  almost  human  in 
its  tones,  fell  headlong  upon  the  earth,  shot  through 
the  brain,  and  stone  dead  when  he  struck ;  and 
Pruyter  swept  by  like  a  whirlwind. 

Thankful  that  the  bullet  intended  for  himself  had 
reached  another  target,  Hector,  in  an  ecstasy  of  rage 
and  impatience  waited  the  coming  of  about  a  doz- 
en horsemen,  who,  in  about  fifteen  minutes,  that 
seemed  as  many  "hours,  came  galloping  up.  He 
quickly  mounted  behind  one  of  them,  and  by  ges- 
ture and  voice  urged  them  to  a  still  greater  speed. 
The  morning  had  now  begun  to  break,  the  eastern 
heavens  lighting  up  slowly,  at  first,  but  faster  as 
the  day  grew,  and  then  they  struck  the  level  of  the 
lake  shore.  Only  two  miles  away  rose  the  rugged 
head  of  Copper  Mountain,  and  just  entering  the 
ragged  shadows,  was  seen  the  fugitive.  With  a 
cheer  the  men  urged  their  jaded  horses  to  a  swifter 
gait ;  and  just  as  the  full  light  of  day  spread  from 
horizon  to  horizon,  they  entered  the  narrow  gorge 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  471 


leading  to  the  stone  house,  up  which  they  had  seen 
the  escaping  man  ride.  But  a  few  rods  were  pass- 
ed when,  in  the  confined  road,  they  found  the  dy- 
ing form  of  the  noble  animal  that  had  sacrificed  a 
valuable  life  to  save  that  less  than  valueless  of  the 
crime  steeped  old  man  of  the  mountain.  With  an- 
other cheer  the  horsemen  clambered  up  the  rough 
pathway,  certain  now  of  their  prev,  for  from  that 
isolated  headland,  horseless  and  boatless,  he  must 
fall  into  their  hands,  sooner  or  later. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  reached  the  level  in  front 
of  the  house,  just  as  a  dark  cloud  began  to  gather 
in  the  west  and  shoot  upwards  toward  the  zenith, 
and  they  were  saluted  with  : — 

"Halt!  Stop  where  you  are,  every  man!  He 
who  approaches  a  single  step  receives  the  contents 
of  this  musket." 

And  in  looking  up  the  startled  men,  who  had  in- 
voluntarily obeyed  the  peremptory  mandate,  saw 
the  old  man,  wayworn  and  haggard,  standing  at  a 
grated  window — the  grated  window  in  the  gable 
end  of  the  building — with  a  musket  at  his  cheek, 
aiming  directly  into  their  midst,  and  with  his  fin- 
ger on  the  lock. 

"I  am  here,"  he  resumed,  seeing  that  they  had 
paused,  and  bringing  his  weapon  slowly  to  his  side, 
"here  in  my  castle,  where  you  cannot  come.  The 
heavy  shutters  are  closed  and  barred  ;  the  door  is 
locked  and  bolted,  and  are  impervious  to  your  as- 
saults. At  my  side  are  five  loaded  and  primed 
muskets,  with  a  death  in  each." 


472  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


"Notwithstanding  all,  Mr.  Pruyter,"  exclaimed 
Rogers  who  stood  in  front;  "notwithstanding  all 
this,  I  say,  our  duty  is  to  apprehend  you,  and  we 
shall  do  so  at  whatever  cost." 

"Reflect  for  a  single  moment,  Mr.  Rogers,"  said 
the  old  man  ;  "my  life  is  already  forfeit  to  justice, 
and  the  death  of  more  or  less  of  your  number,  at 
mv  hands,  can  make  no  difference  with  me.  You 
must  be  aware  that  I  am  a  desperate  man,  and  bv 
vour  own  inspection,  you  must  also  be  aware  that 
no  effort  of  yours  can  reach  me ;  nor  shall  I  allow 
you  to  send  for  assistance,  for  he  who  advances  or 
retreats,  a  single  step,  unless  in  the  latter  case,  all 
shall  go  together,  is  a  mark  for  mv  aim — an  aim 
that  has  seldom  been  known  to  fail." 

"It  is  the  fate  of  all,  Mr.  Pruvter,"  said  Rogers, 
"sooner  or  later  to  die,  either  by  violence  or  natu- 
rally, in  his  bed  ;  and  in  no  more  glorious  cause, 
can  a  man  lav  down  his  life  than  in  bringing  to  jus- 
tice a  man  in  your  depth  in  crime." 

And  still  the  dark,  now  black  cloud  gathered  in 
all  the  sky  every  other  cloud,  leaving  all  but  its  own 
track  clear  and  blue  in  the  just  risen  sun  and  swept, 
as  if  for  a  purpose,  across  thd  firmament  and  low- 
ered over  the  peaks  of  Copper  Mountain. 

"Recriminations  are  useless  now,  sir  Bailiff" 
said  the  old  man,  watching  with  an  eagle  eye,  the 
every  movement  of  his  adversaries,  "as  matters  of 
past  time.  Whether  guilty  or  not  guilty  of  the 
crimes  laid  to  mv  charge,  is  not  now  the  question. 
To  escape  is  my  aim,  otherwise  death,  and  with  it 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  473 

revenge  for  past  injuries.  Hark,  you,  sir  Bailiff, 
and  you,  the  men  in  his  train  ;  within  these  walls 
are  moneys  enough — genuine  moneys —  to  make 
you  all  rich.  Give  me  but  two  hours — one  hour 
— ten  minutes — start,  and  it  is  yours  to  divide,  as 
you  see  fit." 

"No,  a  thousand  times,  no  !"  exclaimed  the  ex- 
asperated Rogers.  "Were  the  four  walls  of  your 
stone  house  full  of  coined  gold,  its  cellars  crammed 
with  diamonds,  and  the  very  stories  of  which  it  is 
built,  precious,  the  whole  would  be  no  temptation, 
when  put  in  the  balance  with  honor." 

"And  who  but  yourselves,"  asked  Pruyter,  "are 
ever  to  know  howl  escaped?  Far  from  this  spot, 
mv  wretched  remnant  of  life  would  be  spent  where 
whether  1  lived  or  died,  would  make  no  earthly 
difference  to  you.  Reflect  for  a  moment,  gentle- 
men, wealth  and  ease,  or  the  cold  grave,  with  a 
bullet  through  your  heart,  for  you  cannot  escape  me 
now.  You  have  the  choice.  Which  shall  it  be?" 
and  he  brought  his  musket  to  his  shoulder,  and  in 
the  deathly  silence  that  followed,  could  be  heard 
ominous  clicking  of  the  lock,  as  the  hammer  was 
drawn  back. 

And  still  the  black  cloud  gathered  and  lowered. 
A  black  cloud,  almost  circular  and  not  over  a  mile 
in  diameter,  with  smooth  edges,  creeping  down 
over  the  peaks  it  already  began  to  touch,  like  the 
black  cap,  years  ago  used  to  cover  the  eyes  of  the 
doomed  man,  that  he  might  not  see  the  death  reach- 
ing for  him  in  form  of  axe  or  rope. 


474 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 


"I  need  no  moment  for  reflection."  responded 
Rogers.  "My  answer  shall  he  the  same,  ever  the 
same.  You  may  shoot  me  if  you  will,  but  that 
shot  will  be  your  last.  My  men  are  eager,  now  to 
commence  the  assault,  how  much  more  eager  will 
they  be  when  I  am  murdered  by  your  hand,  com- 
paratively safe  as  they  must  be,  knowing  that  your 
aim  is  only  at  me." 

"But  an  assault  would  be  useless,  sir  Bailiff." 
said  the  old  man,  surprised  at  the  coolness  of  his 
adversary,  and  lowering  his  gun  slightly  at  the  same 
time.  "You  must  know  that,  vourself." 

"I  do  not  know  it,  old  man  ;  and  I  do  know  that 
when  attacked  from  all  sides,  though  some  may  die, 
others  must  gain  a  foothold,  and  vou  must  be  rout- 
ed out  at  last." 

"Ha!  ha!"  laughed  the  villain,  and  he  really 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  joke,  for  the  moment,  then 
lashing  himself  into  a  rage,  with  a  hand  upraised 
toward  the  threatening  cloud,  he  shouted,  in  tones 
that  sent  a  thrill  to  the  hearts  of  all  his  hearers  ; 
"No,  no,  I  defy  all  the  powers  of  earth,  of  hell, 
and  of  heaven,  to  oust  me  from  my  present  castle 
of  refuge.  Yes,  yes,"  he  exclaimed,  as  if  not  sat- 
isfied with  the  profanity  of  his  former  adjuration  ; 
"I  bid  defiance  to  man,  the  devil,  and  to  the  Al- 
mighty, himself!" 

As  if  in  answer  to  this  blasphemous  challenge. 
a  sudden  tongue  of  flame  leapt  from  the  center  of 
the  overhanging  cloud  ;  a  trisedion  of  blue,  yellow 
and  crimson  fire,  lighting  up  the  whole  mass  of 


THE  COUNTERFEITERS.  475 


vapor  to  a  dull  leaden  color,  and  revealing  the  en- 
shrouded peaks  in  a  dim,  lambent  light,  like  the 
flames  of  consuming  phosphorus,  and  glowing  on 
the  uncovered  crags  like  the  flash  of  sunlight  in 
water  heaved  into  waves  and  lathed  bv  the  tempest 
and  then  down,  link  by  link,  like  the  unfolding  of 
a  chain,  white  heated  ;  down  across  its  scathed  path 
way  on  the  cloud  ;  thrusting  its  forked  tongue  hith- 
er and  thither,  as  if  to  lap  up  the  cooling  drops, 
gathered  from  the  mist ;  downward,  back  and  forth, 
by  the  uplifted  heads  of  rocks  and  precipices,  av- 
oiding the  time  and  storm  scathed  trees  that  stood 
on  the  beetling  cliffs  ;  dodging  the  projecting  points 
of  ore  burdened  stone  that  jutted  out  from  the  pre- 
cipice and  down  behind  the  house  at  last,  relieving 
the  aching  eves  of  the  beholders,  as  with  an  awe, 
fearful  to  experience,  they  looked  on.  And  follow- 
ing it  so  closely  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  part,  as  it 
was,  of  the  same,  came  the  live  thunder,  booming 
loud  and  short,  like  a  minute-gun  of  hedven,  and 
filling  the  rock  framed  vallev  with  a  crash  of  noise 
and  echoes  that  nearly  prostrated  them. 

And  then  came  an  explosion,  not  loud,  but  with 
a  heaving,  lifting  sound,  as  when  a  successful  rock 
blast  is  made ;  an  explosion  that  made  the  solid 
mountain  tremble  and  rock  to  its  base;  an  earthly 
effort  to  rival  the  thunders  of  heaven.  The  light- 
ning had  fired  the  powder  in  the  magazine  in  the 
cellar  under  the  stone  house.  A  broad,  yawning 
fissure  in  the  solid  walls  of  the  building  opened, 
and  through  it  they  could  see  the  fountain  of  flame, 


4/6  THE  COUNTERFEITERS. 

flecked  with  beam  and  board  and  rafter,  rising  in 
its  center,  like  the  pent  up  flames  of  a  volcano  in 
eruption,  forcing  themselves  into  the  outer  world. 
And  outlined  in  minute  relief,  against  the  back- 
ground of  uprising  fire,  could  be  seen,  as  plainly 
as  would  be  that  of  a  figure  of  ebony  on  a  field  of 
purest  white,  the  form  of  the  old  man.  He  stood 
with  his  back  toward  them,  with  hands  upraised, 
sole  inside  spectator  of  the  fearful  exhibition,  as 
was  Croly's  Ethiopian  slave,  sole  spectator  of  the 
burning  of  the  ampitheatre  at  Rome. 

And  then  came  a  louder,  a  fiercer,  a  more  up- 
heaving and  lifting  explosion,  and  then  the  whole 
house,  each  stone  and  stick,  from  cellar  to  ridge- 
pole ;  no  two  pieces  joined  by  the  hands  of  man, 
together,  and  many  rocks  and  beams  and  planks, 
blown  into  thousands  of  fragments,  mixed  and  con- 
fused, surrounded,  interlaced  and  followed  by  fire, 
went  up,  and  up,  whirling,  crashing,  jostling,  un- 
til many  .portions  were  buried  in  the  cloud,  and 
then  back  to  earth,  not  in  u  single  body,  not  eyen 
in  masses,  but  detached, 'as  if  the  spirit  of  the  explo- 
sion was  jealous  that  no  two  parts  of  the  building 
should  ever  again  join ;  that  no  stone  of  the  den 
of  thieves  and  criminals  should  ever  be  found,  one 
upon  another;  blackened,  hissing,  crashing,  they 
came  to  the  earth  ;  and  where  the  Stone  House  in 
the  Pass  once  stood,  there  only  remained  a  dark, 
powder  blackened,  fire  seared  chasm,  surrounded 
by  equally  blackened  and  seared  debris. 

The  force   of  the    explosion   had  destroyed   the 


THE   COUNTEKFEITERS.  477 

secret  door,  but  left  the  private  room  intact,  and 
here  thev  saw  all  that  Hays  had  described.  Wheth- 
er any  more  than  the  old  man,  William  Pruvter, 
were  destroyed,  was  never  known,  for  the  search, 
afterward  made,  for  some  remains  of  the  old  man, 
neither  his  body  or  that  of  any  other,  or  even  por- 
tions were  found,  and  one  of  his  beliefs  was  veri- 
fied, for  if  not  soul  and  body  both,  the  latter  had 
the  appearance  of  being  annihilated. 

But  a  short  time  the  awestruck  spectators  of  the 
terrific  finale  remained  near  the  spot,  ere  long"  ben- 
ding their  steps  toward  their  homes,  in  after  years 
to  tell  their  children  the  fearful  fate  of  the  King  of 
the  Counterfeiters,  and  shudder  again  over  the  aw- 
ful experience  that  that  July  morning  in  1838,  had 
brought  to  them. 

And,  in  the  meantime,  the  black  cloud,  either 
rent  by  the  sharp  peaks, of  Copper  Mountain  or  by 
the  power  of  the  explosion,  or  by  both  combined, 
spread  its  wings,  like  the  eagle,,  and  sailed  away, 
with  no  drop  of  rain  to  follow  it,  and  having  given 
forth  but  a  single  flash  of  lightning,  one  reverber- 
ating peal  of  thunder;  but,  in  that  flash  doing  the 
will  of  Him  who  forged  the  thunderbolt,  in  the 
utter  destruction,  and  breaking  up  of  that  harbor 
of  The  Counterfeiters,"  and  blotting  out  of  exist- 
ence, forever,  ''The  Stone  House  in  the  Pass." 

THF       KND. 


A     000034127 


